“You can dismiss a baby born here to parents who are tourists,” says Gerard Magliocca, professor at Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law, who has also weighed in on the case. “‘They’re not worth being American. What could they possibly do for us?’ And this is one answer.”
Opponents, however, won’t change their tune because of a few goals. “It’s really admirable what this guy is doing in soccer,” says Dennis Grossman, who filed a brief on behalf of the Christian Family Coalition Florida, an organization that ties illegal immigration to rising levels of religious intolerance, including antisemitism, in the U.S. “But you can’t alter public policy, you can’t alter the nation’s security concerns, and you can’t alter the nation’s tolerance religiously and the intent of the 14th Amendment, because there is a rare exception.”
William Dickson, an attorney in Plano, Texas, who also supports Trump’s position, is a soccer fan rooting for the U.S. men’s national team. But Dickson believes the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted, and that Balogun shouldn’t be a citizen eligible to play on the team. “I was thrilled by his play,” says Dickson. “But the law is the law. It’s nothing personal. His connection to the United States is very tenuous.”