Obviously Birthright Citizenship Is In The Constitution

Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship has already become one of the biggest news events of the Administration. The notion of location of birth determining citizenship — commonly called jus soli or “right of the soil” — has a history in English Common Law going back to Calvin’s case in 1608, where it was ruled Robert Calvin was an English subject due to his location of birth in spite of his Scottish heritage.

It should be noted that the British nature of this ruling has been used as a point of criticism. Ann Coulter, a trained lawyer and somebody who once claimed credit for Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric, argued the following in an 8/19/2015 column:

The majority opinion [in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, which ruled that children of legal immigrants were citizens] relied on feudal law regarding citizenship in a monarchy, rather than the Roman law pertaining to a republic — the illogic of which should be immediately apparent to American history buffs, who will recall an incident in our nation’s history known as “the American Revolution.”

Citizenship in a monarchy is based on geography — as it must be in countries bristling with lords, vassals and feudal estates, not to be confused with this country. Thus, under the majority’s logic in Wong Kim Ark, children born to American parents…