OPINION: AG Labrador strikes out with 'birthright citizen” case
The seeds of a major embarrassment for Idaho’s Attorney General were planted on January 20, 2025, when Donald Trump issued an unconstitutional executive order regarding “birthright citizenship.” The order purported to deny citizenship to children born in America to parents who were not U.S. citizens. From the very beginning of our nation, it was understood that all babies born on American soil were automatically citizens, except for children born to foreign diplomatic families. The concept was called “birthright citizenship.” It was an essential cornerstone for the growth of our country.
After the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment became the law of the land. It reaffirmed citizenship by right of birth and ensured that the right extended to formerly enslaved African Americans. The Citizenship Clause of the Amendment reads: “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.” It is important to note that foreign diplomats are not subject to US jurisdiction, so their children are not entitled to birthright citizenship.
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