George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday that it is “insane” for the U.S. to continue allowing birthright citizenship.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order that ended birthright citizenship for children born to illegal aliens. Turley said on “Fox & Friends” that the current issues with birthright citizenship pose a major threat to the country.
“The fact that we are one of the few countries that continues to embrace birthright citizenship is perfectly insane, and it is a great danger to this government and to this republic,” Turley said. ” So the question for these justices is not necessarily if they agree with birthright citizenship. I expect the majority does not.”
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Turley said that the justices all appeared to be acting like originalists, meaning they interpreted the Constitution based on its original meaning at the time of adoption. The citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868 primarily to grant freed slaves and their children citizenship.
“What was really astonishing yesterday is it appeared that we might have nine originalists on the court because the liberal justices started to channel Scalia and to say, ‘oh, you know, we’ve got to stick with the original intent here.’ These are justices, when they look at other rights like the Second Amendment, treat that language as barely a speed bump,” Turley continued. “And they say, well, we have to look at this living constitution and the problems we’re facing today. Well, the problems we’re facing today on birthright citizenship are existential in my view.”
The justices appeared skeptical of Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship, with Chief Justice John Roberts suggesting to Trump’s solicitor general that the Constitution’s text is clear on the matter. Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump nominated in 2018, argued that American laws should not be changed based on how other countries view birthright citizenship.
Trump argued on Truth Social that foreign countries are “selling citizenships” for their own financial benefits. Roberts also contested the notion that birthright citizenship was being exploited by foreigners and incentivizing an illegal immigration crisis.
The U.S. is one of only 30 countries with no restrictions on birthright citizenship.
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