Ilya Somin in Lawfare: “Slavery and Birthright Citizenship”

Society for the Rule of Law Advisory Council Member Ilya Somin was featured in Lawfare discussing the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara et. al. He asserts that the Administration’s arguments subvert the primary intent of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.

“Accepting the government’s position would undermine the central purpose of the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. For that reason alone, the Trump administration should lose the case, especially from the standpoint of originalism.”

Specifically,

“all of the administration’s arguments for denying birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and non-citizens present in the U.S. on temporary visas would, if applied consistently, also have denied citizenship to numerous freed slaves and children thereof. This reality puts the government’s arguments at odds with the original meaning of the Citizenship Clause.”