House Conservatives Want End to Birthright Citizenship

Human Events ^ | 12/9/05 | Robert B. Bluey

[Jean S]

House conservatives today announced plans to amend a Republican-sponsored immigration reform bill with language calling for the construction of a 2,000-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and a provision that would deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose parents aren’t citizens.

The legislation, sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R.-Wis.), is expected to be voted on by the full House as early as next week. Sensenbrenner has worked closely with the White House to craft the bill (H.R. 4437) -- the reason conservatives cited for the exclusion of key enforcement tools.

Rep. Tom Tancredo (R.-Colo.) organized Thursday’s press conference featuring about 20 other conservative Republicans. Each complained about a particular area they want to see addressed (see full list below).

Among those issues likely to be the center of debate next week: the lack of language authorizing a physical structure along the border and the exclusion of a so-called “anchor baby” provision undoing birthright citizenship.

The House conservatives said they would attempt to attach two bills previously introduced to Sensenbrenner’s legislation. House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter (R.-Calif.) is sponsoring the TRUE Enforcement and Border Security Act (H.R. 4313), which authorized the fence construction, and Rep. Nathan Deal (R.-Ga.) introduced the Citizenship Reform Act (H.R. 698), which denies birthright citizenship.

Responding to Sensenbrenner’s bill, Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R.-Ariz.) said, “Both the timing and the thin patchwork context of this proposed House bill reinforced my concern that Washington continues to view illegal immigration as a political problem to be managed, rather than an invasion to be stopped.”

Conservatives flatly rejected any compromise with the Senate that would include a guest-worker or amnesty proposal. During a House Judiciary Committee meeting today, Republicans rejected a Democrat-sponsored amendment that would have attached a guest-worker proposal to Sensenbrenner’s bill.

Tancredo, leader of the 92-member House Immigration Reform Caucus, wouldn’t commit to any specific plan of action regarding amendments. His spokesman said no vote count had been done on any of the potential amendments, adding that the first priority is to simply convince GOP leaders to allow votes on amendments to the bill.

The full list of concerns, released by Tancredo’s office, is printed below.

Fixing our Broken Borders:

• Begin building a border security fence
• Put military on the border
• End ‘catch and release’
• Mandate passport usage for everyone traveling internationally
• Make volunteer border patrol a sanctioned federal activity
• Suspend visa waiver program

Enforcing the Law throughout our Country:

• Require a federal response when local law enforcement asks to have illegal aliens arrested
• Restrict federal money that goes to local governments that have illegal alien sanctuary policies
• Close the loophole which allows religious organizations and their agents to be immune from illegal alien harboring laws
• Make a DUI a deportable offense
• Increase penalties for smuggling of illegal aliens
• Increase penalties for terrorists who are illegal aliens
• Increase penalties for gang members who are illegal aliens
• Draft minimum standards for birth certificates and birth/death registries
• Make unlawful presence in the U.S. a felony

Stopping Businesses from Hiring Illegals:

• Make employment verification mandatory
• Eliminate the business tax write-off for illegal workers
• Increase the penalty for employers who hire illegal aliens
• Make businesses who hire illegal aliens ineligible for future guest workers

Reducing the Incentive to Come Illegally:

• Disallow all federal funding from going to states that offer in-state tuition to illegal aliens
• Disallow the matricula consular card as a legal form of identification
• Reform the use of ITINs
• Eliminate social security totalization for illegal aliens

Disentangling Foreign Policy from Immigration:

• Block any immigration provisions from being inserted into trade bills
• Block visas to countries that refuse to take their nationals back
• Reduce the availability of yearly legal visas per country by the number of illegal aliens from such country

Restoring the Meaning of Citizenship:

• End birthright citizenship for illegal aliens
• Eliminate dual citizenship
• Make English the official language
• Write the oath of citizenship into law

Reforming Legal Immigration:

• Eliminate the visa lottery
• Eliminate chain migration
• Eliminate H-1B visas
• Eliminate unskilled worker green cards
• Create a Department of Immigration or a cabinet-level agency

[gubamyster]

ping

[ncountylee]

End birthright citizenship for illegal aliens

This is huge in my opinion.

[BenLurkin]

And make it retroactive to 1980!

[Borges]

That would be an ex post facto law.

[Lowell]

BINGO!! // DO ALL OF THE ABOVE.

[mallardx]

Yup - the Anchor Baby syndrome is a huge loophole in illegal immigration.

[ncountylee]

Make unlawful presence in the U.S. a felony

Another key element.

[Red Badger]

That would be an ex post facto law.

But retroactive tax increases aren't?...........

[NJ_gent]

"And make it retroactive to 1980!"

That's a big 'no-no' in American law. See Article I Sec 9 US Constitution: "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."

[Mamzelle]

I'd like to see it, but this might make negotiating difficult--unless it's a throwaway card. It would be very difficult to change a law this old.

A back-up position might be to allow for citizenship, but to require the parents to return, and disallow the partents rec'ing any benefits from the anchor.

Wow...this'd sure make a difference at the Thomason Gen OB in El Paso!!

[NJ_gent]

"But retroactive tax increases aren't?..........."

Ex Post Facto generally refers to laws that are criminally punitive. In other words, we criminalize something that's currently legal, then go back and prosecute everyone who did it while it was still legal. I agree that retroactive tax increases are horrible in principle, I don't think a Constitutional challenge to them would hold.

[HHKrepublican_2]

Theres Conservatives in the house?!?!?


/sarc.

[Reaganwuzthebest]

House conservatives today announced plans to amend a Republican-sponsored immigration reform bill with language calling for the construction of a 2,000-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexico border and a provision that would deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose parents aren’t citizens.

This should have been done yesterday. Any hopes of a guest worker program, even if it's only limited to agriculture must end anchor babies and seal the borders if they expect it to get sufficient support from the general public.

[johnny7]

I am ALL for it!

Lets start flooding the phonelines to Washington and get this thing rolling.

[cdrw]

Excellent. This is a huge part of the problem. They know that once they have a baby here they will never be deported and they will eventually be able to sponsor the rest of their family to join them. We're providing a huge incentive for people to immigrate here illegally.

[gondramB]

Sounds great, where do I sign?

[gondramB]

" But retroactive tax increases aren't?..........."

Are they allowed to pass retroactive taxes? I would think that would be unconstitutional.

[seowulf]

How do they plan on getting around that little ole 14th Amendment to the Constitution thingy that says, "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"?

Are they talking Constitutional amendment?

[gondramB]

"Theres Conservatives in the house?!?!?"


They let a few token conservatives in but they have to sit in the back and stay quiet. /not totally sarcastic