Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz told Newsmax he agrees with President Donald Trump in opposing the effect of the birthright citizenship text in the 14th Amendment, calling it a "stupid provision."
Dershowitz told "The Record with Greta Van Susteren" that he could not be clearer in saying the provision is "Dumb. Dumb. Dumb."
The issue is back in focus in Washington as the Supreme Court held a private meeting of the justices Friday to review the circumstances surrounding the battle between the Trump administration and a series of lower federal court judges who are at odds over the language in the 14th Amendment.
The justices might decide to take the case, or leave lower courts' rejection of President Trump's view in place.
The text in question reads: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
Trump contends that children born in the United States to parents who are not legally in the country don't count.
Dershowitz said part of the problem is that the language is not clear, and the words, "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," clearly leave that open to interpretation that if someone is illegally in the United States, its laws do not apply to them.
He offered that, "Citizenship shouldn't depend on where you happen to be the instant of your birth."
He said the language, from his view, points to Congress as the authoritative body that should address that issue.
"They could say that babies born here to parents who are not citizens and who have no connections to the United States are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and that would present a dilemma, but Congress hasn't done that," Dershowitz said.
Now, said Dershowitz, the Supreme Court justices might find a way to get out of deciding the issue and leave the lower-court decisions in place as a way of forcing Congress into action.
"So I think the Supreme Court," he said, "may very well try to duck this issue and not decide it definitively until Congress takes some action, because right now it's in a state of limbo."
The bigger problem might be, said Dershowitz, that there is no clear legal view on the issue.
"There are scholars and others who believe that the president has some flexibility, and Congress has some flexibility in deciding the actual meaning of 'born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,'" Dershowitz said.
He said it is likely that the decision from the Supreme Court on whether to take the case could be announced as early as Monday.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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