Posted on 05/21/2010 5:25:38 PM PDT by Steelfish
The author of Arizona's immigration law, state Sen. Russell Pearce, told constituents he wants to pass another measure to invalidate citizenship granted to the children of illegal aliens.
“If a law is is unconstitutional it should not be passed period.”
Passing a law that says someone born of an illegal in the US is not a US citizen is NOT unconstitutional! The Constitution says they must be under the jurisdiction of the US...so what does that mean? From what I’ve read, the court cases are ambiguous.
A state law could force clarity by forcing a court to consider the question. Unfortunately, I think reality is that A) no state - certainly not Arizona, not right now - will pass such a law, and B) a court would try to sidestep the issue by saying a state has no jurisdiction.
As I said, a state could deport the mother without regard for the child, although I suspect there are enough liberals on the SCOTUS to rule THAT is unconstitutional.
If you are really feeling better you are invited over for kabobs. Teriyaki ckicken/beef/shrimp. I added a little bit more crushed red pepper flakes to the homemade Italian dressing marinade for the veggie part than I intended, just to forewarn you.
“Passing a STATE law saying someone is not a citizen of the United States is absolutely unconstitutional.”
The law would INTERPRET the 14th Amendment, not replace it. It could be written to say that for the purposes of state benefits, the state only recognizes those born under the jurisdiction of the USA as citizens. Or it could be written as requiring the deportation of anyone without immigration paperwork who is not a citizen IAW the Constitution, and then expand that to specify that the children of illegals are NOT under the jurisdiction and thus subject to deportation.
There is no chance Arizona will pass such a law, so it is a bit academic. But there is nothing in the Constitution or that I’ve seen in court cases that REQUIRES the child of an illegal to be considered a citizen. In fact, I can think of several SCOTUS decisions that would support the reverse. Decisions such as Perkins v Elg, or WKA all make the point that the parents were here legally at the time of birth.
Thanks! Just kabobs, or will there be some sides of shish? ;’)
Ummm, we pronounce it “sheesh”, and yes, I think I will have you doing facepalms in short order. :-))
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