NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — For more than a century, the United States has treated the act of being born on its soil as enough to make someone a citizen.

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrimetti said that interpretation goes far beyond what the founders intended.

"I think somebody who have voted for the 14th Amendment, who would have voted to ratify it, would probably be surprised how broadly this citizenship clause has been read," Skrmetti said in an exclusive interview for News 2. "I think they would have thought it was pretty strange thing for somebody to get American citizenship just because they happen to be here when they were born."

The amicus brief argues that the framers of the post-Civil War amendment never intended citizenship to apply to people merely passing through. Instead, Skrmetti said, they envisioned it for those who owed "allegiance" to the United States and made their homes within its borders.

"The Constitution, the 14th Amendment talks about residing in a state," he said. "If somebody is deliberately passing through just to have a baby and leave, that doesn't seem consistent with the amendment."

Skrmetti insists the push is not political but legal. He said it's an attempt to clarify what he calls an open constitutional question unresolved for more than a century.

"It's plainly a legal issue," he said. "It's talking about what the words in the Constitution mean."

He points to the United States v. Wong Kim Ark, a Supreme Court case decided when the United States had far fewer immigration laws. The Chinese immigrant at the center of that case had parents lawfully living in San Francisco. Today, Skrmetti said, the Court must grapple with a reality that looks different.

"Wong Kim Ark does not say anything about people who are here illegally," he said. "The family in Wong Kim Ark was lawfully present in the United States. Immigration laws have changed a lot since then... We need clarity from the Court."

The Supreme Court has not yet agreed to hear the case on its merits, but Skrmetti expects movement soon, possibly a hearing within months and a decision by summer.

"The question really is what limits does the language of the law actually impose?" he said.

For Skrmetti, that question and the Court's eventual answer could help decide how the next generation defines what it means to be an American.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/tennessee-attorney-general-joins-push-to-revisit-birthright-citizenship-clause/