{"id":2588382,"date":"2026-04-08T08:12:59","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mid-air-birth-flies-home-how-stupid-birthright-citizenship-is\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T08:19:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:19:32","slug":"mid-air-birth-flies-home-how-stupid-birthright-citizenship-is","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mid-air-birth-flies-home-how-stupid-birthright-citizenship-is\/","title":{"rendered":"Mid-Air Birth Flies Home How Stupid Birthright Citizenship Is"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmid-air-birth-flies-home-how-stupid-birthright-citizenship-is%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2588382&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An opinion piece argues that the United States\u2019 current, expansive interpretation of birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment is flawed and should be narrowed. It uses a recent \u201cplane birth\u201d story to illustrate how birth status can become murky when a child is born in U.S. airspace or territory, highlighting questions about how location, parentage, and jurisdiction determine citizenship. The article centers on the Citizenship Clause\u2019s key language-\u201cAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof\u201d-and argues that the crucial term is \u201creside,\u201d suggesting citizenship was meant for those who actually reside in the United States, not for babies born mid-air or to nonresidents with limited ties to the country.<\/p>\n<p>the discussion extends to the Supreme Court case Trump v. Barbara, which challenges President Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >order denying automatic citizenship<\/a> to children of illegal aliens and \u201cbirth tourists.\u201d The piece contends that the court\u2019s conservatives appear skeptical of the government\u2019s broader readings, while noting that the liberal justices might resist overturning birthright citizenship. It quotes scholars and advocates-some arguing that the 14th Amendment\u2019s intent was post-C Civil War-yet others warning that changing the rule could undermine the court\u2019s legitimacy.<\/p>\n<p>Polls are cited to show public sentiment is mixed but leans toward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yes-republicans-can-legally-rein-in-birthright-citizenship\/\" title=\"Yes, Republicans Can ...ly Rein In ...\">limiting automatic birthright citizenship<\/a> (with ample support for limits among some respondents, and more mixed views in others). the article also highlights concerns about \u201cbirth tourism,\u201d arguing it has grown into a global phenomenon with meaningful costs and policy implications, including millions of children raised abroad and billions in annual costs to American taxpayers.<\/p>\n<p>the piece contends that the current interpretation amounts to a legal and practical overreach, calling for a reexamination of the Citizenship Clause\u2019s request to births inside airspace and territorial waters, and urging the Supreme Court to restore a more restrained understanding of birthright citizenship.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>To borrow from comedian Jeff Foxworthy&rsquo;s famous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/863645632873888\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">redneck schtick<\/a>, if you were born on a flight over U.S. air space, you might be a U.S. citizen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The latest birthplace debate underscores just how insanely stupid sweeping birthright citizenship has become in the modern age. And it&rsquo;s another example of why the U.S. Supreme Court needs to fix a flawed <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/supreme-court-case-library\/united-states-v-wong-kim-ark-1898\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">130-year-old<\/a> interpretation of the Constitution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;A Child Born on a Plane&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Multiple corporate outlets had some fun reporting on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/07\/plane-birth-jamaica-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;stork&rdquo; story<\/a> of a passenger who gave birth over the weekend during a flight from Jamaica to New York City.&nbsp; The Caribbean Airlines flight &ldquo;landed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York<\/a>&rsquo;s John F. Kennedy international airport with one more person than it took off with,&rdquo; the liberal Guardian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/07\/plane-birth-jamaica-new-york\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guffawed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As the cheeky piece explained, the citizenship status of the newborn remained up in the air because officials had yet to make clear the citizenship status of the parents &mdash; &ldquo;and where the plane was at the exact moment the baby was born.&rdquo; The child would, of course, automatically be a U.S. citizen if either parent is a U.S. citizen. If not, it depends on precisely where the birth occurred. If the answer is within 12 nautical miles of the U.S. coastline, the newborn just won the U.S. citizenship lottery.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&hellip; [A] child born on a plane in the United States or flying over its territory would acquire United States citizenship at birth,&rdquo; the State Department&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/fam.state.gov\/fam\/08fam\/08fam030101.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rule<\/a> states.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>All of this drives home the point that the expansive view of birthright citizenship is a bastardization of the law &mdash; and it needs to end. This Supreme Court has a chance to bring sanity to more than a century of manipulation of the 14th Amendment&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/constitutioncenter.org\/the-constitution\/amendments\/amendment-xiv\/clauses\/700\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Citizenship Clause<\/a>, twisted to appease myriad monied interests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Wherein They Reside&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Last week, the court heard oral <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20260402003802\/https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/oral_arguments\/argument_transcripts\/2025\/25-365_1b8e.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arguments<\/a> in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/cases\/case-files\/trump-v-barbara\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Trump v. Barbara<\/em>,<\/a> a challenge to President Donald Trump&rsquo;s first-day-in-office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/protecting-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a> denying automatic citizenship to children born to illegal aliens or to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rickscott.senate.gov\/2026\/1\/sens-rick-scott-banks-mullin-send-letter-to-secs-noem-and-burgum-urging-closure-of-visa-program-allowing-communist-chinese-birth-tourism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;birth tourists&rdquo;<\/a> and others that have long gamed the system.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As Hans Mahncke <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/06\/this-word-in-the-14th-amendment-bans-birthright-citizenship-and-its-not-jurisdiction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> this week in The Federalist, the question before the court is whether the 14th Amendment&rsquo;s Citizenship Clause extends to &ldquo;every child born on American soil, no matter who the parents are or why they are in the United States.&rdquo; And American waters and airways, as the ridiculous expanded interpretation goes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>&ldquo;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.&rdquo;  <\/p>\n<p>Most of the 14th amendment debate fixates on &ldquo;subject to the jurisdiction thereof,&rdquo; on the assumption that&hellip;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HansMahncke\/status\/2039353094916468835?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>While it seems inconceivable that the three liberals on the court would stand with Trump on doing away with the birthright citizenship, members of the conservative majority seemed skeptical of the government&rsquo;s arguments. Perhaps that&rsquo;s because, for reasons not entirely clear, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/osg\/staff-profile\/solicitor-general-john-sauer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Solicitor General D. John Sauer<\/a> failed to press the jurisdictional language of the amendment. But the justices seemed to be <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/dear-justice-roberts-the-same-constitution-would-never-authorize-anchor-babies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">missing the key point<\/a> of a post-Civil War constitutional amendment meant to extend U.S. citizenship to former slaves, not to grant it to millions of children of noncitizens by virtue of being born within the boundaries of America.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Amendment declares:<\/p>\n<p><em>&ldquo;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.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>If the Supreme Court holds this is why we fought a Civil War and enacted the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/birthright-citizenship-clause-cowriter-said-it-doesnt-include-aliens\/\" title=\"... ... Cowriter Said It Doesn&#039;t Include Aliens\">birthright citizenship clause<\/a> in the 14th amendment, the Court will lose its legitimacy.<\/p>\n<p>This is not even a close legal call. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rQRTURdaV2\">https:\/\/t.co\/rQRTURdaV2<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; &#127482;&#127480; Mike Davis &#127482;&#127480; (@mrddmia) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mrddmia\/status\/2039486882560852284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Ira Mehlman, director of media for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fairus.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the Federation for American Immigration Reform <\/a>(FAIR), contends the phrase that pays in the 14th&mdash; is &ldquo;and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What does it mean to be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States? Does it simply mean that you&rsquo;re here and you have to obey the laws like everybody else? Or does it mean something deeper,&rdquo; Mehlman said this week on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spreaker.com\/episode\/why-birthright-citizenship-is-not-a-constitutional-right--71164683\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Federalist Radio Hour<\/a>. &ldquo;We know that, for instance, children born to foreign diplomats in the United States are not U.S. citizens because they&rsquo;re simply not subject to the jurisdiction of the country.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mahncke wrote that the real argument turns on one word in the Citizenship Clause, which has largely escaped scrutiny: <em>reside.<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Perhaps because it comes at the end, it has been treated as an afterthought, but careful reading shows how central the term &lsquo;reside&rsquo; is,&rdquo; Mahncke asserts. &ldquo;The clause does not say &lsquo;are born,&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;are physically present,&rsquo; or &lsquo;pass through on a tourist visa.&rsquo; Citizenship is granted only to those who actually &lsquo;reside,&rsquo; establishing a precondition for the clause&rsquo;s application&hellip;&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;The Consequences Are Severe&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>The justices on the highest court in the land may not get it, but most Americans do.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A Rasmussen Reports national <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rasmussenreports.com\/public_content\/politics\/trump_administration_second_term\/59_favor_limits_on_birthright_citizenship?utm_campaign=RR04072026DN&amp;utm_source=criticalimpact&amp;utm_medium=email#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> released Tuesday found 59 percent of likely U.S. voters support <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rasmussenreports.com\/public_content\/politics\/questions\/questions\/april_2026\/questions_citizenship_april_1_2_and_5_2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">limiting automatic birthright citizenship <\/a>to births where at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. That includes 39 percent who strongly support such limits. About one-third surveyed (34%) are opposed, including 23 who strongly oppose limitations. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A Pew Research Center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2025\/06\/10\/us-public-is-split-on-birthright-citizenship-for-people-whose-parents-immigrated-illegally\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> in June found Americans divided on automatic citizenship to children born to illegal immigrant parents. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Right on cue, corporate media outlets and liberal organizations have been pushing a narrative and polls that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizonans-show-overwhelming-support-for-border-control-ballot-measure-poll-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Arizonans show overwhelming support for border control ballot measure: Poll - Washington Examiner\">show overwhelming support<\/a> for birthright citizenship. As always, in polling much depends on how the question is asked.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Great nations would never allow their enemies to illegally invade, drop a couple million babies, and them immediately declare that the enemy&rsquo;s progeny magically have the exact same rights as the soldiers fighting to protect the homeland. That is not something a great nation would&hellip;<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sean Davis (@seanmdav) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/seanmdav\/status\/2039502371236057190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>One thing is for certain, the crafters of the Citizenship Clause did not foresee the rise of &ldquo;birth tourism,&rdquo; which has, according to FAIR, &ldquo;exploded into a coordinated global enterprise, with roughly 33,000 tourist-visa births per year and more than 70,000 total foreign births annually.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The consequences are severe: nearly 1.5 million U.S.-citizen children raised overseas with primary loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party, an explosion of chain migration, and more than $150 billion in annual net costs shifted onto American&nbsp;taxpayers,&rdquo; the Federation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fairus.org\/press-release\/citizenship-sale-fair-exposes-how-constitutional-loophole-fuels-multi-billion-dollar\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reports<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And it&rsquo;s safe to say the denizens of 1868 did not envision babies born mid-air and the dividing line between citizen and noncitizen. For the real <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/originalism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">originalists <\/a>on the court, and the liberal justices selectively claiming that space, the Citizenship Clause is more than location; it&rsquo;s the intent of the time in which it was written. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On that score, birthright citizenship should be blown out of the air.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Born over U.S. airspace, you could be a citizen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2588383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-08-at-1.39.33-AM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[74405,77382,70100,77381],"class_list":["post-2588382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-birthright-citizenship-2","tag-citizenship-debate-2","tag-immigration-policy-2","tag-mid-air-birth"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-08-at-1.39.33-AM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588382"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588386,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588382\/revisions\/2588386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2588383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}