Huckabee: Don't Punish Children of Illegal Immigrants

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Republicans ,; Domestic Issues

(Credit: AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

Former GOP presidential contender and potential 2012 candidate Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that he does not support a repeal of the 14th Amendment -- a part of the Constitution other Republican leaders have called into question recently because it guarantees citizenship for children born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status.

Huckabee said in an interview Wednesday that he does not support a repeal, NPR reports.

While the former Arkansas governor said, "I'm not for an amnesty program," he added, "You do not punish a child for something the parent did."

The 14th Amendment has come under scrutiny from Republicans as the nation takes a closer look at its immigration problems. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), once a backer of comprehensive immigration reform, said last month that "birthright citizenship is a mistake" and that he may introduce a constitutional amendment to change the rules. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and other Republicans have advocated for congressional hearings on the issue of birthright citizenship.

Huckabee told NPR that the nation is better off giving all children opportunities to succeed as citizens, even if they were not born in the United States.

"The question is: Is [an undocumented child born outside of the U.S.] better off going to college and becoming a neurosurgeon or a banker or whatever he might become, and becoming a taxpayer, and in the process having to apply for and achieve citizenship, or should we make him pick tomatoes?" Huckabee said. "I think it's better if he goes to college and becomes a citizen."

A new study by the Pew Research Center shows that in 2009, there were about 4 million U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrant parents living in the country. Another 1.1 million foreign-born children of undocumented immigrants resided in the U.S. in 2009.

An estimated 340,000 of the 4.3 million babies born in the United States in 2008, or about 8 percent, were the offspring of undocumented immigrants, the study shows. Pew's figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's March 2009 Current Population Survey.

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by LetisiayLuis March 26, 2011 1:21 AM EDT: I would like to address all those who think immigrants should all be deported no matter what...yes those people come to the U.S. and yes many of them do live with government assistance. but think about it, would you all work for maybe 30 or 40 dollars a day if that? would you work all day most the time more than 12 hours a day for a fraction of what most americans make. would you live and provide for your families on that kind of income plus send money to your home country because at home they would be lucky to make 10 dollars a day. some people want immigrants to become citizens but do you all have 5,000 dollars to get a license or 3,500 to give the government just because you were here and then after spending all that money you may or may not get citizenship. and yes they do have children in the U.S. and it is not just to stay here. but to better their children's lives because they dont want them to struggle to make ends meat or have to kill themselves to live their lives. every american wants better for their children and they are no different. yes many immigrants live on some government assistance but they do pay taxes. any job they have the employer has to take out taxes on them so that is money they will never see when they get older. they live with assistance because who could raise a family comfortably on less than minimum wage. people in the U.S. cant live on minimum wage period.and as far as the children are concerned..lets send you back to a place you have never seen nor set foot on in germany, england, ireland or any other ancestry because we were all immigrants at one point. just because you were born in the U.S. you feel that you have the right to be here. so do those children, they were born here just like you. so if you take that right away from them lets take it away from YOU. you want them to either leave or become a citizen...then give them the financial resoucres to do s

AND FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO WERE WONDERING YES I AM AN AMERICAN AND YES I AM BI-RACIAL AND YES I HAVE A PARENT THAT WAS NOT AN AMERICAN CITIZEN AT ONE POINT. AND YES I HAVE LIVED AROUND ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS MY ENTIRE LIFE.SO FOR THOSE WHO NO NOTHING ABOUT HOW THEY LIVE...DONT TALK ABOUT SOMETHING YOU ARE IGNORANT OF ON THE OTHER SIDE.; Reply to this comment

by twatts1000 August 13, 2010 2:32 PM EDT

One, when you say things like "deport", "illegal baby", etc. you are talking about another American Citizen. The law as it stands now says just that. All this talk is just justification for the violation of another American's rights.

Two, the original Authors of the 14th knew EXACTLY what they were doing. The "idea" that they did not intend for the law to include "illegal aliens" is ludicrous - "illegal" immigration wasn't on the US Lawbooks for several decades after that. How do you write a law intended to prohibit citizenry from a certain population when that population doesn't even exist??? In otherwords, how do you ban citizenship for "illegals" when "illegals" don't exist???

Thirdy, Us vs. Wong Kim Ark states that Citizenship is not dependent upon parentage. Read the history, WKA's parents were not "illegal" in the same sense as today, but they could not be given Naturalization due to their ancestory (Chinese Exclusion Act). But their child was declared a US Citizen. Even when the US declared that WKA's parents were NOT Americans, never could be Americans, and were subject to the Emperor of China, their child was deemed a US Citizen.

Fourth, Plyer vs. Doe addresses the "jurisdictional" question when the SCOTUS stated: "that "no plausible distinction with respect to Fourteenth Amendment 'jurisdiction' can be drawn between resident aliens whose entry into the United States was lawful, and resident aliens whose entry was unlawful."

As for Jus Soli, there are 40odd countries that use this practice, including most of the Americans.

Thanks!

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by KrisKringleJr August 16, 2010 11:09 PM EDT: the author obviously is into "revisionist History", as the 14th ammendment was intended to make the newly freed slaves "citizens". The fact that it is now used for other purposes is exactly why an ammendment to this has been floating around congress for years.

Argue all you will, A change in the law is LONG overdue.


by animaltoo August 13, 2010 2:10 PM EDT: The only way to stop the self-entitled criminals popping over the border and popping out babies like mice, is to quit paying for them. Take the sugar away, and the ants will go away.; Reply to this comment

by dbowenfinfrock August 13, 2010 10:52 AM EDT

I agree, don't punish the children. Send them back home with there parents.

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by animaltoo August 13, 2010 1:46 PM EDT: My thoughts exactly.


by hamm928 August 12, 2010 11:57 PM EDT: Helllooo Mike? If we end this foolish $6B per year program then the children won't be "punished" anymore. Helllooo Mike, America is not the center of the universe.; Reply to this comment


by hamm928 August 12, 2010 11:15 PM EDT: WHAT? This shows how out of touch Mr Huckabee is on this issue. He probably thinks it is Christian to continue to allow millions ($6B per year cost) of these illegal parents' babies to be born here, many right next to the border. Where's your faith Mike, you don't think God exists south of the border?

I'm really dissapointed in Mike now.; Reply to this comment

by RetiredandBored August 12, 2010 9:23 PM EDT

He just lost my vote. I do not want my taxpayer dollars to pay for hospital fees for an illegal who crosses the border to have a baby on US soil. I do not want my taxpayer dollars going to then educate that child whose parents are here illegally. The parents, if illegal, need to be identified and deported, and the child (whether considered a US citizen or not) needs to return with the parents to their country of origin until the child reaches the age of majority. At that time, if the young adult then wants to assert his/her US citizenship, then they are first investigated to assure there are no criminal issues. If not, then the young adult can be a US citizen, pay taxes, go to school, etc.

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by hamm928 August 12, 2010 11:47 PM EDT: Agreed, I don't know what he's thinking. This issue is a no brainer. And then he says all children even if they aren't born here should become citizens? Guess he's never traveled either, America isn't the center of the universe. Also, only 1 in 20 illegals do farm labor here anymore.


by bradkt1 August 12, 2010 8:50 PM EDT: It's about time that a prominent conservative spoke out against this divisive and wrong-headed idea of trying to change the 14th Amendment.

If you want to stop illegal immigration then police the border and enforce the immigration laws. There is no need to screw around with the Constitution over this issue.; Reply to this comment


by kijafha August 12, 2010 7:03 PM EDT: Who cares what Huckabee says. Refusing to award defacto amnesty to the children of people that violate our borders is not punishment.
However, paying tax money to these invaders IS punishment to American citizens!; Reply to this comment

by kijafha August 12, 2010 7:00 PM EDT

Who cares what Huckabee says. Refusing to award defacto amnesty to the children of people that violate our borders is not punishment.
However, paying tax money to these invaders IS punishment to American citizens!

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