Conservative analyst Scott Jennings could barely finish his thought about the birthright citizenship case the Supreme Court is hearing before a CNN host gave him a swift fact-check.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could determine whether birthright citizenship, as outlined in the 14th Amendment, is constitutional. The case stemmed from an executive order President Donald Trump signed last year that declared children who are born to parents in the U.S. illegally are not citizens.
"I think he put the executive order on the table to do exactly what you said, to have the debate and to get it to the Supreme Court," Jennings said. "I think this is a debate that's worth having."
CNN's Abby Phillip, fill-in host of "The Arena" on Wednesday, offered a swift fact-check.
"Just on the facts, 70% in the latest Quinnipiac polling from December say that they should keep the 1989 ruling on birthright citizenship," Phillip said. "Just 24% say they should reverse it. This is a fringe position that only recently has become something that is now at the forefront of some conservatives' minds, but clearly, it shows many conservatives do not agree."
Jennings reiterated that it is a "debate worth having."
"We now have other emerging evidence that there are people in other countries, particularly China, who are taking advantage and defrauding our visa system to try to have this birthright tourism using some of our territories, like the Northern Mariana Islands, for instance, which is like a birthright tourism maternity ward," Jennings said.
