Dean Johnson Comments on 14th Amendment for News21 Report
Dean Kevin R. Johnson commented on the 14th Amendment for a story on recent political challenges to birthright citizenship published by News21, a national initiative involving 12 leading journalism schools that is working to revitalize journalism education and support investigative reporting projects. The News21 report, written by Arizona State University students as part of a project examining immigration issues, includes discussion of proposals to amend the 14th Amendment to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants.
Proponents of the plan have argued that because the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," it does not apply to the children of undocumented parents, whom proponents argue are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
"That language was designed to deal with the children of foreign diplomats, who are immune from suit and the laws of the United States while in the United States," Dean Johnson said. "If proponents of this idea were correct, that would mean undocumented immigrants are not subject to the civil and criminal laws of a state and could not be sentenced to prison for crimes."
Kevin R. Johnson is Dean and Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o studies at UC Davis School of Law. He is an internationally recognized scholar in the fields of immigration law and policy, refugee law, and civil rights.