Amidst a broader wave of criticism from Republican lawmakers regarding a recent Supreme Court decision, one senator is specifically highlighting potential national security ramifications tied to the high court's ruling on birthright citizenship.
Senator Schmitt has expressed profound concern, stating, "I want to get this done because I really believe that the future of our country is on the line." He elaborated on the vulnerability, remarking, "We can't have Chinese generals sending their wives to this country to give birth and going back for 18 years and coming back and being citizens. It's insane."
Addressing the Citizenship Loophole
Senator Schmitt outlined a comprehensive strategy to address the issue, suggesting a multi-stage approach encompassing immediate, intermediate, and long-term actions. He detailed this strategy: "The short-term is executive action, the medium-term is our legislative action that we could take, and then the long-term solution is the constitutional amendment. I think we should pursue all of those."
While acknowledging a constitutional amendment as the most definitive path, the senator indicated that legislative measures might offer a more practical initial course of action.
Legislative Path and Judicial Interpretation
Schmitt cited language from Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh's opinion as a potential blueprint for congressional action. Justice Kavanaugh wrote, "Congress could — consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment — amend or otherwise enact new legislation establishing exceptions to birthright citizenship for children born to foreign citizens unlawfully or temporarily in the country. But Congress has not yet done so."
The senator's proposed legislation aims to clarify the language of the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" has been understood to confer automatic citizenship upon nearly all individuals born on U.S. soil. His plan involves adding the phrase "not subject to a foreign power" to the amendment's text. Schmitt argues this modification would restore the original intent of the 14th Amendment, thereby preventing hostile foreign governments from covertly exploiting the system to gain citizenship for their citizens.
Schmitt believes this change "would get back to what the meaning was supposed to be, that the court got wrong, which would give us the opportunity, I think, for potentially the decision to be overturned, because Congress has clarified it."
Overcoming Congressional Hurdles
However, enacting such legislation in the Senate faces a significant obstacle: the 60-vote threshold required to overcome a filibuster. This means any bill concerning birthright citizenship, spearheaded by Senator Schmitt or other Republicans, would necessitate bipartisan cooperation from Democrats to advance.
Schmitt referenced historical legislative efforts, pointing to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's 1993 Immigration Stabilization Act. This bill, among its provisions, sought to amend the 14th Amendment to prevent children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants from acquiring citizenship, suggesting a historical precedent for bipartisan interest in the issue.
He commented, "It wasn't that long ago that Harry Reid actually had legislation to deal with this issue." The senator then posed a challenge to current Democratic lawmakers: "And so, you know, are the Democrats going to be a party that learned their lesson from the Biden years where they were open borders and they let 15 to 20 million people here illegally?" He continued, questioning their stance on national sovereignty: "They don't believe in sovereignty that we can tell people who can come and who can go. Is that who they are, or are they gonna make a shift more towards where the American people are at?"
