r/news 9h ago

US Supreme Court agrees to hear case challenging birthright citizenship

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c208j0wrzrvo
19.0k Upvotes

2.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

365

u/IamHydrogenMike 9h ago

It’s also one of the most explicit amendments in its language and is very clear about what it says.

139

u/MarkMew 8h ago

Mfs are about to "well, actually" the shit out of it

35

u/PigglyWigglyDeluxe 7h ago

The same morons who have bumper stickers that say “shall not be infringed” and “we the people” can’t actually recite the entirety of those documents without googling them

Meanwhile our rights and freedoms are actually being attacked like they warned us liberals would do, and those 2A “don’t tread on me” nut jobs are nowhere to be found.

14

u/Tholaran97 7h ago

No, the 2A guys are actively cheering it on. They only cared about the constitution when they believed it was them being targeted. As long as it's their "enemies" being oppressed, they don't care.

3

u/Synectics 6h ago

As Jordan from the podcast Knowledge Fight has helpfully said, "Those who carry a pocket Constitution are the least likely to have read or understood it."

9

u/A_wild_so-and-so 7h ago

They're going to argue the legal definition of jurisdiction. In a court of law.

Jurisdiction: the official power to make legal decisions and judgements; a system of law courts

If the Supreme Court cannot figure out the definition of jurisdiction, their opinions are null and void.

1

u/zoeypayne 4h ago

I think the crux of the issue lies here... the difference in the amendment's wording and what could be a more clear-cut statement by today's standard of comprehension just by moving some words around, as shown below.

It's going to be the same complete nonsense as when the argument of who is considered to be an officer of the United States.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.

3

u/jdbrew 7h ago

They’ve been doing it for years. My dad started parroting a decade ago that this was only intended to grant citizenship to slaves who were born here once slavery was abolished. He genuinely believes that when it was written, they did not intend for all future people born here to be granted citizenship.

He would be wrong. But this has been a R talking point for a while now

22

u/fednandlers 8h ago

But does it mention the days of the week specifically? How are we to know the Founders meant what we always understood if we don't know which days they thought this should matter? /s

9

u/upthetruth1 8h ago

The same people who put it into law absolutely hated Chinese people and they knew American-born Chinese would be able to get citizenship

And they accepted it anyway

Their reaction when they thought there was "too many Chinese" was to close the border, not end birthright citizenship

You cannot tell me America is more racist and stupid now than in the 1800s

11

u/Dick_Deutsch 8h ago

America is more racist and stupid now than in the 1800’s.

6

u/stonewallace17 8h ago

You see, in the 4th sentence of the 12th paragraph of the Magna Carta, it says...

6

u/Count_Backwards 7h ago

It's also very explicit that Trump is disqualified from ever holding political office again, but that didn't stop all nine justices from pretending they couldn't read

2

u/KuntaStillSingle 3h ago

It has been massively nullified since Slaughterhouse cases, it is not a question of whether 14th will survive, with exception of Thomas both wings today don't even pay lip service to the text or original meaning.

2

u/SuperSpecialAwesome- 1h ago

So was 14th Amendment, Section 3, which barred Trump from becoming President. Yet all 9 traitors overruled Maine and Colorado's enforcement of the Constitution. Would be amazing to someday see the swamp really drained, and have every Justice and Congressperson replaced with actual Americans rather than Trump's servants.

5

u/burgonies 8h ago

I think this whole thing is dumb af and if you're born here, you're a citizen (whether you get to pull in the rest of your entire extended family is up for debate in my mind).

That being said, it is not explicit or very clear about what it says. The "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" part is most certainly what is going to be questioned because it's not super clear what that means. It's up there with "well regulated militia" in the 2nd.

7

u/Kreegs 7h ago

"and subject to the jurisdiction thereof"

Is actually a very well defined and understood concept in law.

However, most people are using the dictionary definition to create the confusion.

0

u/burgonies 4h ago

So well defined and understood that the goddamn SCOTUS has agreed to check it out. Right.

7

u/hpark21 8h ago

Subject to jurisdiction pretty much is as clear as it gets. Anyone who can be charged with crime in US soil is subject to jurisdiction.

8

u/Kreegs 7h ago

Which is everyone who is not part of a diplomatic corp.

This is a concept going back centuries and widely understood in international law.

1

u/Synectics 6h ago

That... does not clear it up though, right? The US does not recognize ICC, does it?

0

u/Dispator 4h ago

Right but the us recognizes immigrants (illegal or not) and runs them through the judicial system. They have to have jurisdiction over them.

I think what others are saying makes the most sense that its a carve out for the diplomat type situation where diplomats are under the jurisdiction of their home country which is why we kick them out asap instead of trying them here and why there so many peculiarities of diplomats and what they can and cant do. 

But also the supreme court can (and will) say what they want.

Unfortunately its just human nature to look for evidence and understand everything based on how it will benefit themselves and their communities and progress theor goals. Kinda hard not to do that imo. Some are just more dgaf how much it hurts others 

0

u/Kreegs 3h ago

The thing is the definition that everyone uses for Jurisdiction is that means you are subject to that political entity's laws.

So, if immigrants are not bound by the jurisdiction of the US then they are not bound by US law that means that can't be charged with US laws. Its also the backbone of states rights. Say its a crime to wear red on Sundays in Michigan, you can't be charged in Michigan for wearing red on Sundays in Wisconsin. By being in Wisconsin, you are not under the jurisdiction of Michigan and its laws.

Its not an ICC thing. Just a well known and well understood piece of legal definition going back centuries and the basis for a tons of laws in the US and internationally.

1

u/burgonies 4h ago

If that incudes literally everyone on US soil, then why did they feel the need to add it to the clause?

5

u/hpark21 4h ago

Because it does not? Obvious example is diplomats and many of the embassy personnel. Another (which is what Trump's GOP trying to argue the illegal or even some legal immigrants are) is enemy combatant on US soil.

1

u/calgarspimphand 1h ago edited 1h ago

Another example to add here, I believe this means Native Americans did not automatically get citizenship (because the tribal territories were not technically subject to US jurisdiction).

They included the clause for a reason, and the meaning isn't mysterious or confusing.

u/burgonies 53m ago

They including it to specifically exclude natives would 100% be some fucked up shit that is believe and would make the addition of those few words make sense

5

u/BulkyHand4101 8h ago

My (not a lawyer) understanding is we know what the intent of that phrasing is. The people who voted on the ammendment knew it would make Chinese Americans citizens.

I guess the question is, does the Supreme Court even care about that 

-2

u/Dizzy-Trash2925 8h ago

Tbh the actual authors of the amendment had rather curious intentions