GOP Senators Push to End Birthright Citizenship

U.S. Senator David Vitter.

/ AP

A pair of Republican senators - Louisiana's David Vitter and Kentucky's newly-elected Rand Paul - have introduced a resolution to change the Constitution so that people born on American soil do not have automatic citizenship rights.

The resolution would amend the Constitution to mandate that citizenship is only granted to a person born in the United States if "at least one parent is a legal citizen, legal immigrant, active member of the Armed Forces or a naturalized legal citizen," according to a Vitter release. The senators say their bill would close a "loophole" in the Constitution.

"For too long, our nation has seen an influx of illegal aliens entering our country at an escalating rate, and chain migration is a major contributor to this rapid increase - which is only compounded when the children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. are granted automatic citizenship," Vitter said. "Closing this loophole will not prevent them from becoming citizens, but will ensure that they have to go through the same process as anyone else who wants to become an American citizen."

Added Paul: "Citizenship is a privilege, and only those who respect our immigration laws should be allowed to enjoy its benefits. This legislation makes it necessary that everyone follow the rules, and goes through same process to become a U.S. citizen."

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution reads, in part, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside." Vitter and Paul maintain, however, that that does not necessarily confer citizenship on the children of illegal immigrants born on U.S. soil.

That's a view shared by Iowa Republican Rep. Steve King, who introduced birthright citizenship legislation in the House. King told Hotsheet in November that the clause "and subject to the jurisdiction thereof" means that babies born to illegal immigrants do not necessarily have constitutionally-protected citizenship rights.

Critics of the proposal, among them the Immigration Policy Center's Michele Waslin, argue that eliminating birthright citizenship "would punish the innocent children of undocumented immigrants, which flies in the face of American values." CBS News polling finds Americans split on the issue.

Republicans have become upset over what they suggest is the widespread practice of women coming to the United States illegally to have "anchor babies," a concern critics call overblown. Paul and Vitter's bill is unlikely to go anywhere in the Democrat-led Senate.

In a sign that some Republicans, who are concerned about alienating Hispanic voters, may believe the birthright citizenship push goes too far, King was denied the chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommittee in the new Congress.

[tonyatq]

It is illegal pay hookers for sex. Wonder will he introduce a bill to stop prostution.

[towler10]

Hakori-

Why do you sarcastically advise me to "use the gas pipe" when I am simply saying that illegally entering the country with intent of conferring citizenship on your child is dishonest? forcing many American taxpayers to foot the bill to support them is not fair. Why keep having children if you can't support them? This is not racist. I don't care what color you are. It is abuse of the 14th Amendment. What about our own poor, our seniors, our disabled vets that are struggling more than most people know? I work in the social service system with disabled, and I see it everyday. Don't call me a racist when I am concerned about our own poor.

[slatep]

DO IT NOW.!
Such a law would eliminate a lot of the illegal immigration into this country, because the birth of a child would not automatically constitute citizenship.

[myth1958]

Yeah. Sure. All the 'European Descent' citizens have clean immigration status all the way back to England, France, Germany and other places, right? Ireland? Lots of us had to sneak in from Canada because they didn't want to let Irish in at one point. Canadians? I hear there are many thousands of them here illegally, yet few are hounded like southern, hispanic immigrants are. So when we exclude citizenship to children born here whose parents weren't proper in their paperwork, to be scrupulously honest there'd be hundreds of thousands of us who'd be ripe for deportation, were the rules applied equitably. You got your paperwork?

[towler10]

The overburdened taxpayer can no longer pay for the practice of women illegally entering the country to have their children here. Which, unfortunately, is true in too many cases. It is deliberate abuse of the 14th Amendement.

[YrWrongAgain]

Have you ever considered the gas pipe?

[batazoidz]

I support closing this immigration loophole. But without some sort of amnesty provision to address all those who were born and raised here, I cannot see it actually going any where.

ex animo
batazoid

[Calendular]

The proposed legislation follows similar changes to national immigration law being made in many other nations, e.g. Ireland recently. The change basically would require at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen in order to confer U. S. citizenship on a child. It is a proposal which was recommended several years ago by the blue ribbon panel established to study immigration law reforms which was chaired by Democratic constitutional scholar Congresswoman Barbara Jordan of Texas.

Probably the phenomenon of tourists planning trips to the USA from foreign nations specifically to coincide with the delivery of their babies has given some impetus to the law (yes, believe it, there are actually package tours marketed to expecting parents overseas who want their offspring to become automatic U.S. citizens but do not choose to become citizens first themselves!)

Obviously, a baby born on U.S. soil to two parents who are both tourists and who are both citizens of a foreign nation is unusual, but this situation does sometimes occur as the vacation package deals demonstrate. Citizens need to be connected to their country of citizenship in a real and meaningful way in order to perform their civic obligations responsibly, so I agree with the proposed legislation.

[obboy2037]

You make a valid point on the issue of citizens being connected to their country of citizenship... but you neglect to consider that the children born to parents from MOST other countries have a choice of citizenship and/or dual citizenship.

An inescapable fact is that we are moving into a world economy. I can see a time coming when the laws of citizenship will become broader, rather than more defined per the location of birth.

And no, I don't mean "world order", I just mean providing for easier free market activity.

Anyway, NOW -- the US Constitution can only be changed in a prescribed manner and these Senators are just wasting taxpayer time and money blowing the smoke signals for their own re-election, nothing more.

[LionMage1]

It's interesting to note that this proposed Constitutional amendment specifically includes "legal immigrants" in its list of acceptable parents. The 1898 case of U.S. vs. Wong Kim Ark highlights why this is important. At the time of that case, Chinese immigrants weren't allowed to become U.S. citizens -- ever. Since they could not naturalize, the citizenship status of children born here to Chinese parents was a big deal. The U.S. attorney fought bitterly, but the Supreme Court ruled that birthright citizenship extended to children even of parents who were here legally, but who were not citizens themselves. The racial invective being thrown about in that case was worse than what we're seeing today, but the difference doesn't seem that huge to my eyes. It's hard for me to tell how much of the motive behind these proposed laws and amendments (intended to restrict the 14th Amendment's scope) is just pure pandering.

[thebob-bob]

Do these rightwing nutjobs really want to adopt the European model? Look at all the trouble that NOT counting people born on their soil as citizens has caused Germany? They'd rather accept European rascist policies than European health care policies?

Fear, Hatred, Distortion, Distraction and Division is all Republicans have to offer America!

[towler10]

This is not fear nor distortion nor division. The overburdened American taxpayer can no longer sustain abuse of the 14th Amendment.

[brian_norwood]

Oh, that pesky U.S. Constitution. Gets in the way of the teabaggers every time!