One of the most important contemporary legal issues is the application of birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. Liberals argue that the 14th Amendment makes anyone born in the territory of the U.S. an American citizen, with no exceptions. Except that there are, and always have been, exceptions. And the Supreme Court has never held that the 14th Amendment’s grant of citizenship applies to children of people who are here illegally.
The issue is now squarely presented in the U.S. Supreme Court, in Trump v. Barbara. Oral arguments in the case will be held on Wednesday. The foremost proponent of the view (correct, I think) that the 14th Amendment does not make children of illegal aliens citizens is Ilan Wurman, law professor at the University of Minnesota. Ilan recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on this question, and in the most recent episode of the rationally BASED podcast, he and co-host Kathryn Johnson take the deepest of dives into the issue. If you want to understand the arguments that will go a long way toward shaping our country’s future, you should check it out. It is, I should add, surprisingly entertaining:
Why has the Democratic Party been determined to allow–actually, to encourage–millions of illegals to cross our border? Perhaps it is simply out of malice; liberals hate our country and know that tens of millions of illegals will do great damage to it. But there is a more strategic rationale, too: liberals know that they are losing the demographic battle. On average, conservatives have many more children than liberals, and on average, children’s politics reflect their parents’. The Democrats’ solution to this problem is to admit many millions of illegals, some of whom will vote fraudulently for their party, but, more important, will contribute to what the Democrats believe will be the next generation of their voters. That is the vital question that hangs in the balance in Trump v. Barbara.
