First, the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment could not have meant to grant citizenship at birth to the children of illegal aliens because there were no restrictions on immigration in 1868. Hello? Of course they weren't thinking about illegal aliens, because there were no restrictions on immigration in 1868. Uh-oh. So, there were no illegal aliens. Of course that changes over time. Second, the language of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, from which the Fourteenth Amendment was gleaned, states that "all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States." In other words, not citizens or persons of any other power, foreign power. And so, what they did is put that in the positive, the affirmative in the Fourteenth Amendment. You have to be within the jurisdiction of the United States, no other country. Clearly, this would exclude children of aliens, legal or illegal. Of course, we're talking about children of illegal aliens right now. There's no evidence at all that the Fourteenth Amendment's use of the phrase and subject to the jurisdiction thereof was intended to alter the meaning or the intent of the language in the 1866 Civil Rights Act. Well, why did they change it? Because it goes through a different process. But they didn't change its intent or meaning. How do we know? Because they said so. Third, Senators Trumbull and Howard. Remember them, two of the principal authors of the 1866 Civil Rights Act and the Fourteenth Amendment stated that, "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States means not owing allegiance to anybody else." Got that? Allegiance. How on earth is this an automatic grant of birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens? It's not, and it was never intended to be. Indeed, illegal aliens are by definition in the United States illegally. That is in direct violation of federal law. Does anybody actually believe, even if we play this game that the left is playing or some of the justices, does anybody actually believe that a foreigner can confer upon herself legal jurisdiction for the purpose of or even accidentally creating citizenship for a child born here? They're not even here legally. How do they confer a status on their child born in the United States? Is that what the Fourteenth Amendment says? Of course not. And you won't find it in any of the discussions, any of the debates, and you won't find it in any of the ratification discussions in any of the states. Which is why not a single justice pointed to it. There's nothing to point to. Justice Roberts, the Chief Justice, he turns to the Solicitor General who gives him some examples of how this can't be true, and he says, "Those are quirky examples." Well, then I would say to the Chief Justice, "Can you give us one scintilla of evidence to support the proposition that birthright citizenship was intended under the Fourteenth Amendment, rather than referring to esoteric English common law? I've done that. I know what it means." Or to Blackstone or to anything else. Just look at it. Just listen to what they said. Can you show me any evidence? Even quirky. But here we have an instance where people come into the country illegally, and somehow they can confer a constitutional right onto their children? Such an absurdity never entered the discussion, let alone the thinking of anyone involved in the amendment process. Nobody brought it up. I'm sure nobody even imagined it. The focus was on the newly freed slaves and their children, and addressing their ongoing plight in the old Confederacy. That's it. The Constitution is not granting birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens born in our country, which it appears to be specifically denying. It seems to be the opposite. Fourth, there's been reference to a case in 1898, a decision by the Supreme Court, in a case called the United States vs. Wong Kim Arc, and you heard this brought up during the hearing. It held that the Citizenship Clause grants birthright citizenship to a child born in the United States of illegal, of legal, legal resident aliens. Well, where does it say that? Nowhere. Nowhere. I think this decision was wrong, others do too, but let's pretend it's right. There's a lot of debate about it, but it's not relevant to the issue of children born of illegal aliens, because that wasn't what the case was about. Children of illegal aliens in the United States. The fact is, and it is indisputable, that the framers of the 14th Amendment had no intention of creating a universal right of birthright citizenship. None stated, none imagined. There is not a scintilla of evidence, as I said, to the contrary. In fact, the evidence leads to the opposite conclusion. To be crystal clear, at no time did any Senator or Congressman in 1866 or 1868, whether involved in the legislative or amendment processes or not, declare for birthright citizenship as a universal rule. Nowhere. At no time was the idea of foreigners coming to the United States legally or illegally considered an automatic conference of citizenship on children born here. In the case of illegal immigrants, the argument is utterly absurd. Finally, to most of the Supreme Court justices, who did not comport themselves well, in my view, with either the facts or the Constitution. The issue is what the Constitution says, not what you want it to say. The 14th Amendment in particular, and the intent and meaning of those who wrote it and debated it, it has nothing to do with what lower court judges have opined, it has nothing to do with current practices, it has nothing to do with the administrative processes, it has nothing to do with the intent of illegal aliens or some process for determining it. That can all be worked out by the other branches of government, the elected branches. Nor does it have anything to do with your legacy and how it will be treated by the liberal media, left-wing law professors at Ivy League law schools, and immigration activists. It has nothing to do with your understandable concern, if not fear, of intimidation by protesters, which would undoubtedly be treated much differently, I might add, by this administration than the prior administration. You'd be protected. The issue is actually straightforward and simple, and you all know it. There's no such thing as birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens who are, by definition, in our country, illegally, period, and it should be left to Congress through legislation or amendment or to the president by executive order to make determinations on what to do about it, not guesswork during a hearing. Not nine Supreme Court justices, lawyers and robes, your job is to rule on the Constitution and nothing else. Should you rule the other way and actually constitutionalize that which is both unsaid and illegal, you will do irreversible damage to the Constitution, the rule of law, the legitimacy of your court, and most importantly, our republic. You will formally incentivize and promote law-breaking and illegal immigration. You will legalize it through the back door and the children who are born from it. I remind you, the phrase "birthright citizenship" appears nowhere in the 1866 Civil Rights Act, nowhere in the Constitution, nowhere in the debates about either, nowhere is codified in any congressionally passed bill signed into law by any president. Nobody has ever voted for it. Except you, on the court. You get to decide now on a big issue. You should leave it to the people in our elected representatives or the amendment process with a legislative process, but you, if you rule on this and constitutionalize this, will be known as the most activist court in the history of the Supreme Court, and the damage is incalculable. Think about it. I'll be right back.
Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.
