Posted on 12/15/2005 11:35:02 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
LAREDO — A proposal to end the automatic U.S. citizenship for any baby born in the United States has caught the attention of concerned border residents who question whether the proposal could even be enforced.
The U.S. House of Representatives could take up the contentious measure on birthright citizenship as early as today, ending nearly 140 years of legal interpretation and tradition.
The bill, authored by Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., would end the interpretation of the 14th Amendment that a child born on U.S. soil automatically becomes an American citizen.
The proposal has found considerable support from fellow Republicans who say pregnant women are taking advantage of a legal loophole that allows their children, and possibly their parents, to become U.S. citizens.
Border residents, who live in an area where many undocumented immigrant parents give birth to American children, said the bill would do more harm than good.
"I think it's one of the most horrible mistakes that Congress can make. In my point of view, it's unethical," said Raul Reyes, mayor of El Cenizo, a small town near Laredo known for its high immigrant population, both legal and undocumented.
El Cenizo is widely considered a success story for the increasing quality of life it has provided for its mostly low-income residents. Many of the U.S. citizens who run El Cenizo and live there are the sons and daughters born here of undocumented immigrants.
"I don't even think El Cenizo would exist if something like this had passed 10, 15 years ago," Reyes said.
In Hidalgo County, Hollis Rutledge, chairman of the Republican Party, said the change would close a loophole that illegal immigrants are exploiting.
"I have my concerns as it relates to a blatant abuse of people taking advantage of that situation," he said.
As mothers come to birth American children, it overburdens the school and welfare systems, he said.
Enacted after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was designed to help grant citizenship to slaves.
In part, it reads: "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."
Deal's bill makes the case that children of undocumented parents are not under the jurisdiction of the United States.
Dubbed "anchor babies" by the bill's supporters, the U.S.-born children can petition the government when they turn 21 for their parents and relatives to gain legal residence in the United States.
Data on how many children are born to undocumented parents is hard to come by. By unofficial estimates, 100,000 to 350,000 such births occur each year, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Mark Lisa, chief operating officer of Doctor's Hospital in Laredo, said an end to birthright citizenship would have a negligible impact from a hospital perspective.
"We have a lot, but not a majority, of women who come in without the benefit of prenatal care. Most likely those are the women who are not legal residents of the U.S.," Lisa said. "There may be some advantages to us in terms of less mothers without prenatal care, but financially I don't think there would be a real big impact either way."
Records for the numbers of births to undocumented mothers were not available because hospitals don't routinely ask about citizenship.
That poses another dilemma: If birthright citizenship ended, who would enforce it?
Lisa said Doctor's Hospital doesn't have the resources to verify citizenship and is not keen on being assigned the task.
"As an administrator, I would feel uncomfortable being placed in a position by our government to act in a place of a government official," Lisa said.
Elizabeth Flores, a registrar clerk at Laredo's vital statistics office, said parents seeking a birth certificate for their child do not have to prove their citizenship.
Under the current rules, all that is needed for an American birth certificate is paperwork from a U.S. hospital recording the birth, and identification from the parents.
If birthright citizenship were revoked, Flores figures enforcement would be up to immigration officials, not the city.
"Even though we know we have people who are not here legally, we don't ask," she said.
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mcastillo@express-news.net
Colonia El Cenizo holds its town meetings in Spanish, and recently passed a resolution opposing the Texas Minutemen. Mayor Reyes is a former illegal himself.
Passing another law will do nothing, they don't enforce the ones they already have on the books.
Protect our borders and coastlines from all foreign invaders!
Support our Minutemen Patriots!
Be Ever Vigilant ~ Bump!
nothing is going to change till money is taken away by the states and the feds for non-enforcement of the law. Actually, it would be wonderful, if we as citizen could do likewise to the cities, states, and feds for non-enforcement of the law. I'm hearing estimates that by 2020 35-40 percent of the population will be illegal? oh, and I always laugh when someone says something can't be done....
Hit the cities, refusing to enforce the law, in the the pocketbook, and those cities will go bankrupt or shape up.
Spoken like a true illegal immigrant advocate Mayor Reyes. And we were to expect anything else out of one who snuck in himself?
Did he just admit he believes it would work?
Bummer, now the Catholics will oppose the bill.
"Ain't America Wunnerful?" Ping!
BULL.. Balderdash!
I'll bet you a shininy new Nickel Mark, that you have no problem digging through a dying accidents victim's pockets for about an hour looking for his Blue Cross card and getting his signature on the release form before he croaks.
1 - Btw Mark, how's your sister - Mona.
We can enforce this change with a "Real Birth Certificate" law, just as the "Real ID" law recently passed does with state driver's licenses.
To register a birth, both parents should be required to prove valid citizenship or legal residence. Likewise, new birth certificates not so prepared shouldn't be accepted as proof of citizenship for driver's licenses and US passports.
This should have been done long time ago. I remember sometime back around 1989 Diane Sawyer did a story about illegals abusing the system in this manner and it was going to be changed then but never was. Each day we wait hundreds more will continue to take advantage of our generosity for their own personal benefit.
No one is asking hospitals to be the enforcer of who is a U.S. citizen at birth.
A check box will do. . .
Is the mother a U.S. citizen?
Is the father a U.S. citizen?
Citizenship can be determined later, if the question arises.
*Giving false information for this document carries severe criminal penalties
ping
This country needs that bill past posthaste.
That "passed" vice "past". Sorry!
Sure it can be enforced.
All we need do is clarify the Fourteenth Amendment to state that to qualify for birthright citizenship of the United States, a child must have been born of or adopted by a citizen or legal resident of the United States and make it mandatory that at least one parent or legal guardian have to verify their citizenship or legal status before a birth certificate is issued by any agency. Any child born in the US not of a citizen or legal resident or one where proof of parent legality is absent or lacking should be issued a certificate of birth with non-citizen status clearly marked so that birth may not be used to complicate deportations of illegal aliens.
Also, we should pursue the rejecting and nullification of any certificates of marriage issued in the United States to any person who is not or was not legally admitted into the United States prior to the certificate's application or issuance.
Regulations are imposed to control a person's right to the Second Amendment - ie. felons lose their gun ownership right - illegals ought be denied the ability to confer any illegally obtained citizen privileges to offspring simply because of where their child fell.
IMO, a "birthright" privilege is passed from parent to child - not from government to child.
Yeah, and if it hadn't have been for slavery, we may not have had a civil war. < / sarcasm>
Look what I found out about this success story:
The median income for a household in the city is $13,333, and the median income for a family is $13,438. Males have a median income of $14,200 versus $10,625 for females. The per capita income for the city is $3,610. 68.1% of the population and 66.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 74.3% of those under the age of 18 and 60.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
With success stories like these, maybe we should consider New Orleans a model city.
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