Should We Change the 14th Amendment ?

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/rand-paul-wants-amendment-to-deny-citizenship-to-illegals-kids.php

In this article, senate candidate Rand Paul has two arguments : 1) the Supreme Court should change laws regarding birthright citizenship that will deny children of illegal immigrants, born in the United States, citizenship and 2) the 14^th Amendment was for slaves and not for illegal aliens.

I would like to focus on the first argument. One of the premises states that The Fourteenth Amendment actually says that you will be a citizen as long as you are under the jurisdiction of the United States.” Indeed the Fourteen Amendment says ,, 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 applies to the children that are born here, and not to the parents. So what really the Constitutions says is that if you are born in the United States you are a American citizen, no matter the status of either one of your parents.

Second premise of the first argument states that: children that are born to illegal aliens are really still under the jurisdiction of the Mexican government. Which is not the case , their citizenship is guaranteed in the Constitution of the United States because they are born here.

Summarizing his argument:

1) the 14^th Amendment: birthright citizenship is guarantee only if you are under the Jurisdiction of the U.S.

2) children that are born to illegal are still under the jurisdiction of their parent’s country/countries.

Therefore:

3) if you are born in the United States and your parents are illegal , you are not an American citizen.

The conclusion of this argument is that the 14^th Amendment should not grant citizenship to children of illegal aliens born on US soil. The condition of this argument is Critical because the author commits an Amphiboly fallacy due to the ambiguity of the word “ jurisdiction”. According to Ran Paul , illegal aliens are under the jurisdiction of their country and so are their children. However, they must obey local an federal laws, otherwise they will get arrested . The Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition for “ jurisdiction is: power; authority; control; the territory over which authority is exercised.

It is not clear what Rand Paul meant by , jurisdiction”; does the language simply implies obedience to laws, or whether it refers to something more direct and substantial, such as territory. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court has granted Citizenship to anyone born in the United States except children of foreign diplomats. It is because the clarity of the language that this ruling has not been changed since 1898.