OPINION — I take exception with Jeff Hostetler’s recent opinion on birthright citizenship. He incorrectly offers that “the Constitution plainly states that anyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, period.”
First, the Executive, as president, is charged in Article II of the Constitution with preserving, protecting and defending the U.S. Constitution, which includes the 14th Amendment. Enforcing the law is what we hire the Executive to do.
The text of the 14th Amendment contains two requirements for acquiring automatic citizenship by birth: first, one must be born in the United States and, second, be subject to its jurisdiction.
