Re: "That would require a constitutional amendment to modify the fourteenth amendment...All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States..."
Recently it has been noticed that the amendment says "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." Freed slaves were certainly subject to the jurisdiction thereof. But just anybody who manages to sneak into the country without the government's knowledge or permission and then have a baby is not necessarily under the jurisdiction thereof. The law has been interpreted to mean that any child born under any circumstances here is automatically a citizen, but that is only an interpretation. The Court could change the interpretation without changing the law. Whatever. It didn't matter so much in the past, but it is probably time to close this loophole.
