6/10/25, 12:01 PM GREGG JARRETT: President Trump has a valid argument on birthright citizenship

GREGG JARRETT: President Trump

has a valid argument on birthright
citizenship
[Link] ([Link]
argument-birthright-citizenship) · by Gregg Jarrett Fox News

Video ([Link]

Repealing birthright citizenship is an uphill battle, Gregg Jarrett

explains ([Link]

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6/10/25, 12:01 PM GREGG JARRETT: President Trump has a valid argument on birthright citizenship

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett breaks down President Donald
Trump's attempt to repeal birthright citizenship on 'Fox & Friends.'
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It did not take long for the litigation lollapalooza to light up.

Within hours of his inauguration, roughly two dozen states sued President
Donald Trump over his executive order denying automatic citizenship
([Link]
citizenship-bill-after-progressive-fury-presidential-order) to U.S.-born
children of parents who are here illegally.

The various state attorneys general

([Link]
admin-over-birthright-citizenship-order-unprecedented) who are suing
dismissed his action as a flagrantly unlawful assault on the Constitution,
while confidently assuring us that the president’s order would be struck
down in court under the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment.

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’
([Link]
lawsuit-birthright-citizenship-ready-face-them)

Not so fast.

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6/10/25, 12:01 PM GREGG JARRETT: President Trump has a valid argument on birthright citizenship

As I explained Tuesday morning on Fox News, Trump has a credible and

defensible argument that the amendment was never intended to apply to
people who broke the law by coming here fraudulently or illegally.

Video ([Link]

Granted, it may present a considerable challenge

([Link] for Trump in the
courts. But he has initiated a reasoned debate that is worth having.
Ultimately, it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to further define the
parameters of what the authors of the 14th Amendment intended.

Let’s begin with the text of the Citizenship Clause itself:

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6/10/25, 12:01 PM GREGG JARRETT: President Trump has a valid argument on birthright citizenship

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they
reside."

The operative phrase, "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," is at the heart of

Trump’s justification on birthright citizenship. What does it mean?

As our nation’s chief executive who is duty-bound to enforce all laws

([Link] Trump interprets
that constitutional provision narrowly. That is, illegally present aliens are
not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. because they presumptively
maintain political allegiance to another sovereign as citizens of that foreign
power.

Simply put, the mere act of setting foot on U.S. soil does not necessarily
constitute allegiance or otherwise "subject" an individual to complete
American jurisdiction.

The legislative history of the 14th Amendment supports this point. It was
ratified after the Civil War in 1868. Its sole objective was to grant
citizenship and full rights to formerly enslaved people. There is little
evidence that Congress and the states meant to extend citizenship to
children of diplomats, temporary students, tourists, and illegal aliens.

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Video ([Link]

While it is true that everyone here must abide by U.S. laws

([Link]
trumps-ice-deportations) under our principles of territorial jurisdiction, that
is not the same thing as political jurisdiction. Senator Lyman Trumbull, who
was a moving force behind the 14th Amendment, specifically stated that the
Citizenship Clause does not encompass individuals still subject to any
foreign power or owing allegiance thereto.

Supporters of birthright citizenship for illegal migrants

([Link]
crackdown-produces-nearly-50000-criminal-arrests) often cite — and
misinterpret — the 1898 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong (169

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6/10/25, 12:01 PM GREGG JARRETT: President Trump has a valid argument on birthright citizenship

U.S. 649) involving a child born in the U.S. However, his parents, originally
from China, were here lawfully and permanently. The high court’s decision
pivoted on that distinguishable fact.

The ruling in Wong does not stand for the proposition that citizenship is
automatically conferred to the children of parents who are here in the
United States illegally. Their citizenship derives from the home country of
their mother and father.

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More directly relevant are two other Supreme Court cases in which the
Justices explained the original intent behind the 14th Amendment. Its
qualifying phrase, "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," excludes citizens of
foreign countries born in the U.S. (The Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. (16
Wall.) 36, 1872; Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94, 1884)

For far too long, our government

([Link]
trump-admin-act-immediately-mass-deportation-pledge) has been granting
citizenship documents based on an understanding of the 14th Amendment
that is, at best, unclear, if not erroneous. Congress could have clarified it,
but has consistently failed to do so.

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6/10/25, 12:01 PM GREGG JARRETT: President Trump has a valid argument on birthright citizenship

By his executive order, President Trump has finally set in motion a

contentious issue that will now be determined in courts of law. Lest we
forget, it is the primary function of the Supreme Court to interpret the
Constitution and to resolve disputes such as this.

Trump’s critics are wrong in claiming that he is abusing power. As noted

above, he is properly asserting it and moving the matter forward for judicial
review.

This is precisely what our Founders intended when they constructed a

unique government of checks and balances.

Predictions of Trump’s defeat — as usual — are premature.

Gregg Jarrett is a Fox News legal analyst and commentator, and formerly
worked as a defense attorney and adjunct law professor. His recent book,
"The Trial of the Century," about the famous "Scopes Monkey Trial" is
available in bookstores nationwide or can be ordered online at the Simon &
Schuster website. Jarrett’s latest book, "The Constitution of the United
States and Other Patriotic Documents," was published by Broadside Books,
a division of HarperCollins on November 14, 2023. Gregg is the author of
the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book "The Russia Hoax: The Illicit
Scheme to Clear Hillary Clinton and Frame Donald Trump." His follow-up
book was also a New York Times bestseller, "Witch Hunt: The Story of the
Greatest Mass Delusion in American Political History."

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