(HorizonPost.com) – On Tuesday, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz introduced legislation aimed at ending birthright citizenship in the United States, the Washington Examiner reported.
The End Birthright Citizenship Fraud Act amends the interpretation of the 14th Amendment found in the Immigration and Nationality Act to its “original intent.”
The bill would end automatic citizenship for babies born in the United States not only to illegal aliens but also to non-citizens who are legally admitted as permanent residents, refugees, or to work with the military.
In a press release on Tuesday, the congressman argued that birthright citizenship has become a “loophole for illegal aliens” to abuse the immigration system. He described birthright citizenship in the Immigration and Nationality Act as “grossly and blatantly misapplied.”
Central to Gaetz’s legislation is the interpretation of the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment, which he argues must return to what drafters of the amendment intended.
Gaetz’s legislation outlines the history behind the 14th Amendment, including the words of Senator Jacob Howard who was the principal spokesman for the Senate on the 14th Amendment.
Howard said at the time that the birthright citizenship clause would not include those who are “foreigners, aliens” or the families of foreign ambassadors or ministers.
Gaetz said of his bill that it would recognize US citizenship as a “privilege” and “not an automatic right to be adopted by illegal aliens.”
Ending birthright citizenship for illegal aliens has become a key position among a growing number of Republicans, including 2024 presidential candidates.
When he ran for president in 2016, Donald Trump vowed to end the program, though he never did. Now that he is running again in 2024, Trump has revived his vow to end birthright citizenship by executive order.
In unveiling his immigration plan last month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis included ending birthright citizenship among his other immigration proposals.
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