• Maggoty@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    No, but SCOTUS can “reinterpret” the 14th Amendment. They’ve already taken the argument for a first date and they really liked it.

    [Sane People] claim that anyone born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen, even if their parents are here illegally. But that ignores the text and legislative history of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 to extend citizenship to freed slaves and their children.

    The 14th Amendment doesn’t say that all persons born in the U.S. are citizens. It says that “[a]ll persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens. That second, critical, conditional phrase is conveniently ignored or misinterpreted by advocates of “birthright” citizenship.

    If you missed it, they’re claiming that undocumented people are not subject to the jurisdiction of the US, which is a really great way to lie, They’re hoping people don’t understand their big words. Jurisdiction means to have authority over and enforce laws upon. If the US didn’t have authority over undocumented people then there could be no deportations, arrests, speeding tickets, or HOA complaints against them. It’s ridiculous on it’s face but at least it’s not being pushed by a reputable organization like the Heritage Foundation.

    If you do go read the rest of it, don’t forget they’re showing a very one sided take of definitions that’s favorable to them. They aren’t writing this as a good faith educational piece. For example, we know that courts and the government routinely ignored parts of the reconstruction era acts and Amendments until over a hundred years later. Relying on the opinions of those doing the ignoring is another way for them to talk fast and hope you don’t realize what they’ve done.

    • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      That’s some Sov Cit level legal gymnastics.

      “This undocumented immigrant is just travelling, we have no jurisdiction over them”

      • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Yup. And just like a SovCit they’re going to claim we don’t understand the magic words.

    • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      LOL, how cute. You think that still matters.

      Nothing stopping both houses from just reducing the threshhold because fuck you that’s why, getting Trump to sign off on it, then getting backing by the Supreme Court. Sure, that’s completely at odds with the Constitution, but who’s left to enforce it?

      We already know that at least half the states will just blindly go along with it and say it’s to control immigration, or just because MAGA, or because fuck you that’s why. Threaten the rest with withholding of all federal funding until they get on board and watch how many fall in line. Sure, that’s even more highly illegal, but again…who’s going to stop them? Laws don’t mean shit if there is nobody willing or able to enforce them.

    • wolfpack86@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      All they need is 5 SCOTUS justices to agree the text means whatever.

      Then you need a different SCOTUS session to disagree or all of that to fix the text

      • AngryRobot@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        They used a 1600s law from before we were a country to rationalize overturning Roe v Wade. This SCOTUS had a supermajority of corrupt Justices willing to twist the law into whatever the Federalist Society wants it to say.

    • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      With SCOTUS the Constitution says whatever they say it does. We had a chance to fix that situation and we blew it.

    • disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Republicans have just over 50% of the Senate and the House. They don’t have a 2/3 supermajority.

      They’ll still pass the legislation by voting in a block, but they can’t push it through without a vote if they don’t have a supermajority.

      • BradleyUffner@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        They have the supreme court, which basically allows them to interpret laws anyway they want. Why bother with an the work of changing laws when they can just reinterpret them?