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The term “birthright citizenship” is not found in the Constitution. The 14th Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States … are citizens of the United States.” It was part of the healing balm to reconstruct a broken nation, and rebel states had to ratify it to regain congressional representation.
Today, every aspect of the 14th Amendment is under siege; not just citizenship, which was meant to prevent freed slaves from becoming stateless refugees, but also due process, equal protection and the disqualification of those who engage in insurrection, or “give comfort to the enemies thereof,” from holding office.
Is there really a good reason to fray the already fragile historical threads holding our democracy together?
Gerald Busch
Waikiki
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