NPR: The Debate Over 'Anchor Babies' And Citizenship

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CONAN: I think I've read that only Canada, of all of the developed countries in the world, has laws similar to those in the United States.

Mr. DELLINGER: That's right. The rest of the world has sort of gone to more of a system of who your parents are. Now, here's why our history makes us different and singular. That is, because we had enormous experience of trying to deny citizenship to persons of color, slave or free...we never again wanted to go back there. And there's something also else unique about America. Our identity is changed. Every year, every day, every hour, new Americans arrive here. And in other countries, they can go back and decide whether you're a legitimate person, a legitimate citizen, by seeing whether your father was legitimate or your grandfather. It's like something in the chain of title of a piece of property. You go back generations and find out you're no longer a citizen.

We believe on a clean slate principle. So that miraculously, in some sense, every new - whatever questions there are about the legitimacy of parents or grandparents, in our country you get a clean slate. Every new child who is born here is simply and indisputably an American. And that is part of our almost unique national identity.

CONAN: It (the 14th Amendment) did not deal with the issue of immigration. There was unrestricted immigration to the United States at that time. So by definition no illegal immigrants.

Mr. DELLINGER: That's correct. The Supreme Court did address this issue in 1898. However, because the horrendous Chinese Exclusion Act passed by Congress actually prohibiting any person of Chinese ancestry from being or remaining in the United States - but the question was, what about a child who was born here of Chinese parents who are themselves subject to being expelled, and the court said the answer is clear from the 14th Amendment: They are citizens, you know, at birth.

There's a link to the audio of the Talk of the Nation segment.