Newt Gingrich on Activist Judges and Birthright Citizenship

Addressing "Activist Judges"

• 🏛️ Newt Gingrich describes the trend of district court judges issuing nationwide injunctions as an "emerging dictatorship of district court judges."
• ⚖️ He supports the "No Rogue Rulings Act" as an appropriate first response to judges acting beyond their constitutional authority.
• 🎯 Gingrich believes that successfully limiting district judges' power would send a strong signal of rebalancing the Constitution and sober up the judicial branch.
• 🚀 While acknowledging the issue of "judicial supremacy," he prioritizes solving the immediate problem of overreaching judges before tackling more distant constitutional debates.

Re-examining Birthright Citizenship

• 👶 Gingrich discusses President Trump's executive order to end birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.
• 📜 He believes it's a legitimate presidential function to examine how laws and interpretations evolve.
• 🧐 Gingrich personally feels it's difficult to argue for birthright citizenship based on the debates surrounding the 14th Amendment's adoption.
• 🌍 He notes exceptions like children of diplomats not being citizens and suggests that the scale of illegal immigration may necessitate revisiting the issue.
• 🧑‍⚖️ The immediate next step for this debate is expected to be at the Supreme Court level.

Interpretation of the 14th Amendment

• 📜 Gingrich's reading of the 14th Amendment debates suggests that individuals had to be present legally to qualify for birthright citizenship.
• 🚫 He argues that being present illegally or in a situation outside American law, such as an invading army, would not grant citizenship to their children.
• 🤔 He posits that birthright citizenship for non-citizens was a habit that grew absentmindedly and may not have been the original intent of the 1860s debates.