Birthright

Trump reignites debate in Congress over ending birthright citizenship

Ryan has said flat out it would require a constitutional amendment.

But a number of congressional followers of the Duce have urged that the congress can command courts to interpret the 14th in such a way as to deny birthright citizenship to children of illegals.

That, too, is bullshit, but it's a kind of bullshit very popular among the "low information voters" who comprise the bulk of the non-rich Republicans.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a critic-turned-ally of the President, said on Tuesday that he plans to introduce legislation in line with Trump's vow of executive action, while Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa, an immigration hardliner who has been rebuked by members of his own party for incendiary comments on immigration and diversity, seized on the President's remarks to promote legislation he has previously introduced to end birthright citizenship as it currently exists.

It's not likely that any legislation challenging birthright citizenship would pass out of Congress, in part because there's no broad base of support on Capitol Hill in favor of doing so and any effort to challenge the policy would be highly divisive.

"At this point, it's really a minority within the Republican Party that's advocating for the end of birthright citizenship," said Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. 

"There have been bills that have been introduced since the early 1990s that would limit or end birthright citizenship, but they have never had enough support to pass even out of committee, much less out of Congress."

. . . .

Legislation like what King has introduced does not attempt to alter the text of the Constitution as it is written, but rather seeks to reinterpret the way a key passage of the 14th Amendment is commonly understood. 

The bill would restrict birthright citizenship so that children born in the United States to unauthorized immigrants would not automatically be granted citizenship. 

It currently has 48 cosponsors, all of whom are House Republicans.

Many legal experts believe, however, that efforts to reinterpret the 14th Amendment would not pass constitutional muster.