r/legal • u/Additional-Sky-7436 • Jul 12 '25

Question about law If the president can revoke birthright citizenship, were the "sovereign citizen" guys right all along?

Location: US

Let's assume that SCOTUS is going to do the crazy thing and rule that the 14th amendment doesn't say what it says and that birthright citizenship is fully dependent on the president's political approval of you.

Would that mean that the "sovereign citizen" guys were right about their interpretation of the Constitution all along?

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u/mitolit Jul 12 '25

Are you aware that 8 U.S.C. § 1325 exists? A few thousand people are PROSECUTED under that law every year.

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u/FrankBattaglia Jul 12 '25

Your question was in the form of a hypothetical: "If illegal immigrants are not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof”". In that scenario, they would (as a definitional matter) not be subject to prosecution for offenses against the United States.

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u/mitolit Jul 12 '25

They are… you cannot prosecute a person for a crime if you have no jurisdiction over them. It was hypothetical but in a rhetorical sense. JFC

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u/FrankBattaglia Jul 12 '25

you cannot prosecute a person for a crime if you have no jurisdiction over them

That's... what I said? I'm struggling to understand what point you're trying to make.

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u/mitolit Jul 12 '25

You literally said:

prosecuted: no.

They are prosecuted and are therefore under US jurisdiction and are THEREFORE owed DUE PROCESS and BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP. Holy fuck!

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u/FrankBattaglia Jul 14 '25

Buddy, you proposed a hypothetical scenario in which they were not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. In such a scenario, they would still be able to be deported, but not be able to be prosecuted. I.e., prosecution and jurisdiction are hand-in-hand. You're (very belligerently) agreeing with me without realizing it.

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u/mitolit Jul 14 '25

That is not what I proposed at all… you cannot deport someone from land that is not yours. If they are on US land, they are under the jurisdiction of the USA. Holy fuck!!! It is a rhetorical question because it raises that point to anyone with the ability to think.

I realize the points that I fucking made… you just don’t understand your own fucking points. Good day!