Dershowitz Says Birthright Citizenship Can’t Be Ended ‘For Better Or For Worse’

Alan Dershowitz

By Haley Cohen October 30, 2018

President Trump vowed to end the blanket right to citizenship for children born on American soil in an interview with Axios Tuesday morning.

But legal eagle Alan Dershowitz, known for his frequent defenses of Trump, says that the 14th Amendment authorizes birthright citizenship and it can’t just be changed by executive order.

“[Birthright citizenship] doesn’t make a lot of sense logically, but it’s in our Constitution and it would be impossible to amend the Constitution to change that, so we’re going to stick with that for better or worse,” Dershowitz told Newsmax in 2015. Dershowitz has yet to comment on Trump’s most recently announced plan to sign an executive order.

The 14 Amendment says: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

Seeking to end birthright citizenship would be the most dramatic and probably quixotic move yet in Trump’s hardline immigration policies.

Analysts say he may hope to gin up support in his right-wing base by bringing up the issue, especially as he seeks to change the discussion away from the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre. But it may be controversial even among Trump’s strongest conservative backers who tend to be Constitutional literalists.

A president cannot amend Constitution or laws via executive order. Concept of natural-born citizen in #14thAmendment derives from natural-born subject in Britain. Phrase “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes mainly foreign diplomats, who are not subject to U.S. laws.

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) October 30, 2018

Contact Haley Cohen at hcohen@forward.com

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO