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Supreme Court to weigh future of birthright citizenship · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: In today's spotlight Who gets to be an American? The
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court hearing arguments tomorrow in a case that will
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  Speaker 1: decide the future of birthright citizenship here in the US.
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  Speaker 1: The case stems from an executive order President Frum signed
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  Speaker 1: on the first day of his second term, ending the
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  Speaker 1: guarantee for children who don't have at least one parent
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  Speaker 1: with citizenship or permanent legal status. What the Justicees decided
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  Speaker 1: could impact the legal status of more than a quarter
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  Speaker 1: million babies born every year here in the US, and
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  Speaker 1: the parents of millions more would have to prove the citizenship.
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  Speaker 2: Status of their children.
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  Speaker 1: Joining me now is California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Thank
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  Speaker 1: you so much, sir, for joining us here in studio.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely so. I've got the Trump administration's argument here in
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  Speaker 1: front of me. They argue that the Constitution does not
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  Speaker 1: grant citizenship to children born in the US to parents
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  Speaker 1: who are in the country unlawfully or temporarily.
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  Speaker 2: You filed a lawsuit challenging that. Why was that?
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  Speaker 3: Because they're wrong on what the US Constitution says. It's
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  Speaker 3: very clear, and this case is about whether the Constitution
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  Speaker 3: means what it says when it says and the citizenship
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  Speaker 3: clause of the fourteenth Amendment that all people born on
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  Speaker 3: American soil are Americans doesn't mean that all people born
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  Speaker 3: on American are Americans. The answer is yes, and that
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  Speaker 3: was amendment passed back in eighteen sixty eight, and the
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  Speaker 3: US Supreme Court itself affirmed the meaning I just set
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  Speaker 3: forth that if you're born on an American soil, you're
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  Speaker 3: an American in a US Preme Court case called Wangkim arc.
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  Speaker 3: And this is a fringe theory being advanced by a
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  Speaker 3: Trump administration that's very hostile towards immigrants and has their
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  Speaker 3: own personal view of what it means to be an
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  Speaker 3: American and excludes a lot of actual Americans who are
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  Speaker 3: Americans by the Constitution, and they're trying to rewrite the
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  Speaker 3: Constitution with a stroke of a pen in an executive order.
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  Speaker 3: There's a way to amend the Constitution. It's difficult by
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  Speaker 3: a design. You need to get two thirds majorities in
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  Speaker 3: each House and then three forced ratification by the States,
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  Speaker 3: or you need to have a constitutional convention. So if
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  Speaker 3: they want to make these arguments in the context of
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  Speaker 3: seeking a constitutional amendment through the way set forth in
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  Speaker 3: the US Constitution, they may, but they may not issue
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  Speaker 3: an executive order that amends the Constitution.
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  Speaker 1: What do you think the impact that ending birthright citizenship
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  Speaker 1: would have in this country on a human level.
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  Speaker 3: It would exclude the quarter million babies born every year
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  Speaker 3: who should be citizens. In California, about twenty four thousand
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  Speaker 3: born every year, probably the most of any states, since
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  Speaker 3: California is the largest state. Those individuals who should be
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  Speaker 3: American citizens and should be able to grow up with
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  Speaker 3: all of their protections and privileges of being an American
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  Speaker 3: citizen would be deportable on day one. They could never
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  Speaker 3: work legally. They wouldn't be able to get a passport
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  Speaker 3: or a Social Security number. They wouldn't be able to
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  Speaker 3: receive federal benefits that could help them be healthy if
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  Speaker 3: they're sick, or eat if they're hungry. They could never
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  Speaker 3: serve on a jury, or vote or run for a
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  Speaker 3: public office. We have a social compact now that's enshrined
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  Speaker 3: in the fourteenth Amendment citizenship clause, which says, if you're
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  Speaker 3: born here, then you are a citizen. You're part of
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  Speaker 3: our democracy. You can vote, you can serve on a jury,
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  Speaker 3: you can run for office. You're part of making our
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  Speaker 3: democracy vibrant and strong, and the president, unlawfully and unconstitutionally
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  Speaker 3: is trying to change that with the stroke of a pen, and.
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  Speaker 1: Ending birthrights citizenship here in the US would certainly cause
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  Speaker 1: some complications for many.
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  Speaker 2: Let's talk about elections while we have you here.
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  Speaker 1: Some are concerned the White House will move to install
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  Speaker 1: federal law enforcement or even military soldiers at polling sites.
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  Speaker 2: Are you concerned about that? What are your thoughts? I
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  Speaker 2: think they are desperate.
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  Speaker 3: They see what the polls show. I think Trump's popularity
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  Speaker 3: and approval ratings are the lowest it's ever been. Only
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  Speaker 3: thirty percent of Americans approve of him. So with desperation
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  Speaker 3: comes desperate actions, and including the possibility of putting military
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  Speaker 3: at polling sites. It's unlawful under federal law. You cannot
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  Speaker 3: have the military or armed people near the military. It's
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  Speaker 3: in federal statutory language and law now, so they would
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  Speaker 3: be violating the law. But look, this is a president
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  Speaker 3: who has blatantly and brazenly and consistently and frequently violated
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  Speaker 3: the law, trampled over the constitution. Birthright citizenship as another example.
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  Speaker 3: Having military and armed people at the poll would be
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  Speaker 3: another example of it. But I think he sees no
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  Speaker 3: way in a fair election where people vote, that he
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  Speaker 3: can win, so he's trying to change the rules through
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  Speaker 3: intimidation suppression. He issued a new.
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  Speaker 2: Executive order today which.
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  Speaker 3: Is very questionable in its lawfulness to change vote by
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  Speaker 3: mail in the United States. So I think we're going
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  Speaker 3: to see more desperate actions by a man who sees
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  Speaker 3: that he's widely unpopular, trying to suppress the vote and
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  Speaker 3: undermine the fundamental right to vote for Americans.
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  Speaker 1: And many Democrats have said this would disenfranchise many eligible
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  Speaker 1: voters to go out there to the polls, whether there
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  Speaker 1: are our military folks in place or they can't vote
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  Speaker 1: by mail. Sir, thank you so much for coming in.
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  Speaker 1: Really appreciate your time. Thanks for having me absolutely anytime.