What the Media Isn’t Telling You About Birthright Citizenship

President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship is consistent with the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, contrary to what the press is misleading people to believe.

SOURCES:

Media coverage of Judge Deborah Boardman’s ruling on President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship: https://www.google.com/search?q=%22conflicts+with+the+plain+language%22+%22binding+supreme+court+precedent%22+%22Boardman%22&num=10&newwindow=1&sca_esv=fd368f2ad05e4b13&source=lnt&tbs=cdr%3A1%2Ccd_min%3A2%2F3%2F2025%2Ccd_max%3A2%2F8%2F2025&tbm=

Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship: https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/

The 14th Amendment uses the phrases “subject to the jurisdiction” and “within its jurisdiction” for different purposes: https://www.justfacts.com/constitution#Amendment14

U.S. Senator Jacob Howard (R–MI) coauthored the 14th Amendment: https://bit.ly/45QWUF2

Howard introduced the birthright citizenship clause of 14th Amendment in the Senate by stating that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction … will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers….” https://www.justfacts.com/document/1866_birthright_citizenship.pdf

Howard explained that “the word ‘jurisdiction’, as here employed, ought to be construed as to imply a full and complete jurisdiction on the part of the United States … that is to say, the same jurisdiction in extent and quality as applies to every citizen of the United States now. Certainly, gentlemen cannot contend that an Indian belonging to a tribe, although born within the limits of a State, is subject to this full and complete jurisdiction.” https://www.justfacts.com/document/1866_birthright_citizenship.pdf#page=6

Howard introduced the birthright citizenship clause of 14th Amendment by stating it will require that “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,” the exact words that were ratified:
https://www.justfacts.com/document/1866_birthright_citizenship.pdf
https://www.justfacts.com/constitution#Amendment14

In 1924, Congress passed a law that awarded U.S. citizenship to all “non-citizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States.”
https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/dc-metro/rg-011/299811/299828/299828.pdf
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/june-02/

The Supreme Court’s 1898 ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/169/649

The definition of “dicta”: https://www.clio.com/resources/legal-dictionary/dicta/

The Supreme Court’s 1870s rulings in the Slaughter-House Cases: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/83/36

Footage from ABC News is reproduced under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law for “purposes such as criticism” and “comment” (17 U.S.C. §107). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107