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John Yoo, JD, Emanuel S. Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, in an Aug. 22, 2015 National Review article, "On Citizenship, the 'Birthers' Are Right," available at the National Review website, stated:

“[T]he American people can always amend the Constitution to change the principle of birthright citizenship. Putting to one side the waste of time and resources entailed, amending the Constitution would be a sorry mistake. Rather than being a misguided act of generosity, the 14th Amendment marks one of the great achievements of the Republican party. It was the Republican party that opposed Dred Scott [the 1857 Supreme Court decision that held that black people, slaves and free, could not be US citizens]. It was the Republican party that fought and won the Civil War. And it was the Republican party that drafted and ratified the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, which did away with slavery and any distinction between Americans based on race. If we are to discard one of the greatest attributes of American exceptionalism, let it be the handiwork of nativist Democrats and candidates who appeal to the lesser angels of their nature.”

Aug. 22, 2015