Does the 14th Amendment guarantee citizenship to everyone born on US soil?
No! The 14th Amendment provides that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens . . . .” The Supreme Court first considered the clause in the Slaughter-House Cases of 1872, unanimously recognizing that the phrase “was intended to exclude from its operation children of . . . citizens or subjects of foreign States born within the United States.” This view was confirmed in the 1883 case of Elk v. Wilkens. The phrase, according to the court, meant “not merely subject in some respect or degree to the jurisdiction of the United States, but completely subject to their political jurisdiction, and owing them direct and immediate allegiance.” Children of temporary visitors to the United States, particularly those who are here illegally, owe primary allegiance to their parent’s country, not to the U.S., and are therefore not guaranteed citizenship by the terms of the 14th Amendment. *Source* Dr. John C.
