Are you smarter than a WH lawyer?
Every word we use throughout a given day was chosen, either consciously or subconsciously, for a reason. That is because every word has a meaning. You don’t say something is “silly” when it’s actually “dangerous,” and you certainly don’t say “all” when you mean “some.”
Seems simple enough, right? Not for the geniuses roaming the halls of the White House.
On his first day in office, President Trump signed a nonsensical executive order, purporting to revoke birthright citizenship in the United States, by refusing to issue identifying documents to children who are born to undocumented parents.
Let’s see if we can’t spot the issue on our own. Are you smarter than a White House lawyer?
The text of the 14th Amendment, which establishes the rules for citizenship, reads as follows:
“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.”
If you understand “all persons born or naturalized…” to mean exactly that, then you’re in good company. Four federal judges, two appointed by Republican presidents, have issued orders temporarily blocking this order on constitutional grounds and also, well, common sense.
The administration is trying to get around these rulings by going to their friends on the Supreme Court and arguing the federal judges didn’t have the correct authority to block the order. But even a court packed with Trump appointees couldn’t go along with such a craven and ridiculous stunt. They even refused to rule on the constitutionality of the executive order itself.
The Trump administration’s efforts to see this order go into effect are still ongoing. I’m sure they’ll cook up any number of ways to argue technicalities and split hairs, but I am hopeful about our chances and the strength of our constitution.
Why? Because all the bluster and posturing in the world can’t change the simple fact that laws, and the words which we use to write them, still have meaning. The day this isn’t true is the day we’ve lost our democracy.
More soon,
Jim McGovern
