Trump 14th Amendment proposal. "Doesn't pass the laugh test."

Can Trump actually change the 14th Amendment by executive order?

I asked a retired local judge and legal scholar.

Phil Arnold, retired judge responds. In a word: "No."

Dear Peter,

Phil Arnold, From Facebook

I had seen the frivolous idea of changing the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment ("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.”) by Executive Order and had given it no thought until you called wanting to have a serious conversation about the law on this subject. I decided I should at least read a few cases to be sure I had not missed something before I responded. My initial query turned up a definitive article which reviewed the law. 

Click here. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/politics/birthright-citizenship-executive-order-trump.html?module=inline

You know I very much enjoyed my judicial career which sometimes allowed me to analyze the interrelationships of the federal and state constitutions and various statutes. As the article points out there is no legal issue presented in this proposal. To borrow Gertrude Stein’s famous phrase, “There is no there there.”

Other articles suggested that the proposal is a part of this silly season of elections. It is true that people have been discussing the idea for a couple of days and, for that time, at least, no one has been focused on substantial issues such as homelessness, wages, war and peace, the funding of health care and education and other serious matters. But politics is your bailiwick and I’ll leave that discussion to you. As for a legal issue, it doesn’t pass the laugh test. 

Phil [Arnold]