14th Amendment Of The United States Read Count : 97

Category : Articles

Sub Category : Politics

   So I thought with the the current discussion of the 14th Amendment flowing around, I would post what the amendment says. This is a more complicated topic, because Trump does make one good point. People who are born on the United States, and should they be allowed to become citizens if their parents are here illegally. He has actually mentioned eliminating the entire Amendment, with an executive order. That cannot happen though, if he read the amendment it has a specific walk on it which I have bolded. The fifth article, explains that only Congress has the power to enforce the laws mentioned in this article. Therefore, if Trump were to attempt to eliminate this amendment, he would be breaking another law again. That doesn't mean he won't try, and we should be wary of this because this was the first written document explaining legal citizenship. This is the threshold of whether or not current citizens could be deported, even if they were born here in America 20 or 80 years ago.


   Here's some history on it, this amendment was added on July 28th, 1868. It grants all people citizenship, who are born or naturalized in the United States. This is important, because it refers to all people and not just a particular group. The misconception, is this was added after the Civil War, when the huge majority of slavery was abolished. Most people assume that this specifically just means people came from outside of the United States. That is not true, because this was the first official document of citizenship.

  It is true that there are people outside of the United States, who abuse this privilege to try to grab free citizenship. The number is fewer so, the United States, President Trump would have us believe. 


   "Citizenship was granted to about 275,000 babies born to undocumented immigrant parents in 2014, representing about 7 percent of all births in the country that year." -USA Today


   7 percent is a small percentage of the overall scale of babies born that particular year, and has slightly increased to 7.8%. Is this an issue, yes. It is not as serious as the President would have us believe though.


So What Should Be Done?


   The best way to deal with this, is to add an article to remove these rights to children born from illegal immigrants with certain exceptions. Things in the Constitution must be made clear regarding specific issues at times. Certainly Americans, don't like 


14th Amendment


Section 1


   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. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.


Section 2


   Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.


Section 3


   No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.


Section 4


   The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.


Section 5


   The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

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  • Nov 01, 2018

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