That a person born in the United States and not excepted from its jurisdiction, which is otherwise absolute, is a citizen at birth has been well established not only by the 14th Amendment (which simply reaffirmed the color-blind nature of this precept) and explicit statutory declaration, but by the very Common Law which predated the independence of the United States of America or even the foundation of the colonies which became the Untied States of America.
This has been made clear, not only by United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), but by a clear review of the actual historical evidence.
But President Donald Trump has declared that he can simply wish differently in order to effect a “quick fix” for some contemporary political problem by publishing by executive order an update to the Newspeak dictionary. And yet again, it becomes necissary to debunk that.
Folks, birthright citizenship isn't just some interpretation of a few weirdly phrased passages in the 14th Amendment. We had birthright citizenship BEFORE the 14th Amendment. It's actually one of the oldest and most fundamental principles of American law. 1/
— Dilan Esper (@dilanesper) December 9, 2024
We inherited our citizenship system from the British common law. Like most British colonies, we got our legal system from them. Our Constitution, with references to "common law" (7th Amendment) and "law and equity" (Article III) confirms the British basis of our legal system. 2/
— Dilan Esper (@dilanesper) December 9, 2024
There are two basic notions of citizenship. Some countries, most notably British common law systems, have "jus soli" citizenship, where being born somewhere confers citizenship. Other countries (notably civil law countries) have "jus sanguinis", i.e., bloodline citizenship. 3/
— Dilan Esper (@dilanesper) December 9, 2024
From the founding of this country, you were considered a citizen if you were born here. Indeed, during the colonial period there were various migrations of people from Britain into what became the United States. These people and their descendants became citizens. 4/
— Dilan Esper (@dilanesper) December 9, 2024
