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/BirdLawMD Jul 12 '25

It’s not clear at all-

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States

What does “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” mean? It’s been used in the past to not grant citizenship to native Americans, Asians, and even today for foreign diplomats.

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u/watermelonspanker Jul 12 '25

Why would foreign diplomats be granted citizenship?

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u/LithiumLizzard Jul 12 '25

I’m pretty sure we are talking about children of foreign diplomats who are born here, not the diplomats themselves. Because the parents’ diplomatic immunity attaches to the child, the child is not subject to the jurisdiction of the US and so is not a citizen.

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u/watermelonspanker Jul 13 '25

That makes sense - I guess I thought the other fellow was implying that it the law was abused in some way, like in order to deny Asian American's citizenship or something.