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WASHINGTON Groups upset about illegal immigration and some Republican lawmakers say that any reform such as the one proposed by President Bush must include a provision to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and temporary workers.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who heads a 90-member caucus pushing to tighten immigration laws, has introduced his proposal to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of temporary immigrant workers.
He said the provision was vital because immigrants do not want to leave after their visas expire if their children are U.S. citizens.
In addition, Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., has proposed a measure that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit automatic citizenship at birth to children of U.S. citizens and lawful residents.
And Rep. Mark Foley, R-Jupiter, introduced a constitutional amendment that would eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
Most scholars believe a constitutional amendment is necessary to change the birthright citizenship provision, but some disagree because of different interpretations of the 14th Amendment. Changing the Constitution requires ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Any legislative statutes passed by Congress that eliminate birthright citizenship would be immediately challenged in the courts, experts said.
The House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims will hold a hearing today on birthright citizenship, dual citizenship and their impact on national sovereignty. Several legal experts are scheduled to testify.
Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national group that lobbies to reduce illegal immigration, said the lure of U.S. citizenship for children is a "huge incentive" for people to come to the United States illegally because it opens the door to many social benefits.
Once grown, the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants can petition for their parents' residency, and family reunification is often cited as a reason for amnesty proposals.
"We're bestowing citizenship without consent, without our consent... to people who have not subjected themselves to U.S. jurisdiction," said Stein. "We're allowing other countries to manipulate our laws."
But immigrant advocates and Hispanic groups counter that employment is the major motivator for illegal immigration and that support for ending birthright citizenship is simply a sign of anti-immigrant sentiment.
"The only thing that this kind of change gets you... is stateless people, which doesn't solve any problem," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.
Under the proposals, U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants or temporary workers would have unclear citizenship and become an official second class without the same protections as everyone else born and raised in the United States, Munoz said.
"This is not a matter of immigration policy, this is a matter of changing who we are fundamentally as a nation," she added.
The United States grants citizenship to every child born in the United States with the exception of children of foreign diplomats, who keep the citizenship of their home country.
One other exception, which would deny citizenship to the children of members of an occupying force, has never been an issue in the United States, said Peter Spiro, an international law professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who is testifying at today's hearing.
Spiro said proposals to change the birthright citizenship have been around since the mid-1990s and have never come to fruition.
"It's part now of our entrenched constitutional tradition that all children born in the territory of the United States are deemed citizens at birth," he said.
The tradition dates to English common law, and the right has been ratified through several court decisions, he said.
In addition, the 14th Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
Colorado Rep. Tancredo and others contend that the amendment does not apply to children of illegal immigrants because they are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.
Spiro said the amendment's wording is ambiguous but that the courts would likely strike down any legislation that tried to change the granting of birthright citizenship.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/nation/epaper/2005/09/29/a7a_birthright_0929.html
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WASHINGTON Groups upset about illegal immigration and some Republican lawmakers say that any reform such as the one proposed by President Bush must include a provision to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and temporary workers.
Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., who heads a 90-member caucus pushing to tighten immigration laws, has introduced his proposal to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of temporary immigrant workers.
He said the provision was vital because immigrants do not want to leave after their visas expire if their children are U.S. citizens.
In addition, Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., has proposed a measure that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to limit automatic citizenship at birth to children of U.S. citizens and lawful residents.
And Rep. Mark Foley, R-Jupiter, introduced a constitutional amendment that would eliminate birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.
Most scholars believe a constitutional amendment is necessary to change the birthright citizenship provision, but some disagree because of different interpretations of the 14th Amendment. Changing the Constitution requires ratification by three-fourths of the states.
Any legislative statutes passed by Congress that eliminate birthright citizenship would be immediately challenged in the courts, experts said.
The House Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims will hold a hearing today on birthright citizenship, dual citizenship and their impact on national sovereignty. Several legal experts are scheduled to testify.
Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, a national group that lobbies to reduce illegal immigration, said the lure of U.S. citizenship for children is a "huge incentive" for people to come to the United States illegally because it opens the door to many social benefits.
Once grown, the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants can petition for their parents' residency, and family reunification is often cited as a reason for amnesty proposals.
"We're bestowing citizenship without consent, without our consent... to people who have not subjected themselves to U.S. jurisdiction," said Stein. "We're allowing other countries to manipulate our laws."
But immigrant advocates and Hispanic groups counter that employment is the major motivator for illegal immigration and that support for ending birthright citizenship is simply a sign of anti-immigrant sentiment.
"The only thing that this kind of change gets you... is stateless people, which doesn't solve any problem," said Cecilia Munoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic civil rights organization.
Under the proposals, U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants or temporary workers would have unclear citizenship and become an official second class without the same protections as everyone else born and raised in the United States, Munoz said.
"This is not a matter of immigration policy, this is a matter of changing who we are fundamentally as a nation," she added.
The United States grants citizenship to every child born in the United States with the exception of children of foreign diplomats, who keep the citizenship of their home country.
One other exception, which would deny citizenship to the children of members of an occupying force, has never been an issue in the United States, said Peter Spiro, an international law professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who is testifying at today's hearing.
Spiro said proposals to change the birthright citizenship have been around since the mid-1990s and have never come to fruition.
"It's part now of our entrenched constitutional tradition that all children born in the territory of the United States are deemed citizens at birth," he said.
The tradition dates to English common law, and the right has been ratified through several court decisions, he said.
In addition, the 14th Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
Colorado Rep. Tancredo and others contend that the amendment does not apply to children of illegal immigrants because they are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States.
Spiro said the amendment's wording is ambiguous but that the courts would likely strike down any legislation that tried to change the granting of birthright citizenship.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/nation/epaper/2005/09/29/a7a_birthright_0929.html
