Posted on 09/29/2007 6:12:59 AM PDT by Josh Painter
When Fred Thompson said it might be time to review the practice of granting citizenship to every child born on American soil, he didn't acknowledge the seismic shift such an idea represents.
Citizenship by birth has been prescribed by the Constitution since 1868 -- and upheld for 109 years by the Supreme Court -- but the Republican presidential candidate made it sound anachronistic.
"I think that law was created at another time and place for valid reasons," the former U.S. senator from Tennessee said earlier this month. "It probably needs to be revisited."
Thompson's comments have angered Hispanic leaders -- many of them Republicans -- who say they are a crass attempt to court the GOP base.
With conservative voters demanding an end to illegal immigration, Republican candidates have been talking tough on that issue for months. In July, an adviser to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said the Romney campaign was researching the birthright-citizenship issue.
"It's not just ramping up the rhetoric," said Alex Villalobos, a Republican state senator from Miami. "It's pandering to extremists."
State Rep. David Rivera, R-Miami, while not criticizing any candidate directly, called the idea a "xenophobic" notion that could drive Hispanic voters from the GOP.
"At best, this would be seen as mean-spirited," he said. "At worst, it's seen as bigotry."
Thompson made the comments in Cape Coral as he barnstormed through Florida two weeks ago.
He was blasting so-called "chain migration" -- the legal immigration preference that enables naturalized or birthright citizens to bring their non-American family members here -- when he was asked about children born here to illegal immigrants.
Thompson said he was less concerned about them, but that the issue of automatic citizenship should be reviewed.
"It probably needs to be revisited," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
Read Congressman BillyBob’s explanation above.
Simple solution: “reciprocity.”
Grant the right only to visitors from those other nations who grant the same right to similarly situated visitors from the US to their nation.
No way is THAT “xenophobic.”
Thank you. I am tired of people bending the Constitution to fit their own agenda. Its time it is followed as written, in the spirit it was written.
Thanks for the clarification.
Oh well I can only find my guitars (I'm tripping over the dang things) - so screw em.
'Series' the 14th Amendment doesn't apply to them and the ones NOT in a prison or a gang, i.e.: who have skoolin, know it.
Congress (The House) can fix this mess by simple legislation. The shame is it was tried by a GOP congressman when we had the majority (can't recall his name) but it was buried, killed, axed, deep sixed, by the powers that be in the GOP (hi Karl Rove ya rotten ***tard).
So ... GO FRED!
Tell these 'angered hispanics' to go p___ up a rope.
Illegal alien Hispanics aren’t the only ones exploiting birthright citizenship. The first time I ever heard the term “anchor baby” was in an article about South Koren women who scheduled vacations in the US so as to have a kid here, and then return to SK. I think their motive involved having a safe harbor in case the North/South Korea situation ever become explosive. But this archaic provision is being exploited by people for all over, solely for their own reasons.
I(for one)HEARTILY agree with Fred Thompson!That law is archaic and has been a MAJOR Factor in INCREASING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION!!!
Sledgehammer style will not win the issue for us. His answer was spot on and I get IT loud and clear sorrey you don’t.
What was to become of their children, well the 14th Amendment addressed that SPECIFIC condition as well as covering all other babies born to people here legally.
NEVER, EVER was it intended to cover people who were here ILLEGALLY, for the sole intent of gaining citizenship (also government welfare, health care, free educations and many other things.)
“When Fred Thompson said it might be time to review the practice of granting citizenship to every child born on American soil, he didn’t acknowledge the seismic shift such an idea represents.”
When you are right, you are right.
I’m liking Fred more and more all the time.
Since when is “pandering to the GOP base” the same as “catering to extremists”. All GOP base are extremists?
And why is it only Hispanic people who are mad? How about all the other ethnicities America takes in as immigrants. How come they aren’t mad? Who’s running this country anyway?
I got it loud and clear. My ears are still buzzing.
I regret you haven’t been paying attention all these years to politician-speak. “Might” is a non-committal word. It means going in whatever the direction the wind is blowing and in the end doing nothing.
Fred is borrowing an old idea from Ron Paul. Not the first time that a candidate has adoped one of Ron’s proposals.
Seismic? Perhaps. But not original Another candidate in the field, deemed a “loony” by some of the Frederation, has been pushing this for years.
I’m so gawddam sick and tired of the Hispanic sense of entitlement when it comes to their illegal aliens. In this case the legal Hispanics and even the Republican Hispanics are the defenders of illegal aliens who come here and start dropping their anchor babies. I’m so effin tired of this bull.
If it were up to me I would build a fence and ban all legal& illegal Hispanic immigration for a generation and give other people a chance to come and make it here. Hispanics have been hogging our immigration slots for decades. Legal and illegal they just jam in here without conscience because the nations leaders have caved into this mob
First, IMHO, this "reporter" is just trying to stir the pot. FRed made those comments over two weeks ago and this guy is just now getting around to spewing his liberal biased "reporting?"
Example:
When Fred Thompson said it might be time to review the practice of granting citizenship to every child born on American soil, he didn't acknowledge the seismic shift such an idea represents.
Is it a seismic shift? Obviously this reporter thinks so. But I doubt a majority of Americans would feel that way.
In fact, given the way the polls have leaned during the various tries at amnesty by the Wash DC pols, I expect a majority of Americans would agree with FRed.
We are being played for suckers by the Hispanic mob. It's a con game and Americans stupidly go along with it. Of course the useless hacks in DC could care less about reviewing the 14th Amendment. I'm so disgusted today. We are being swamped by illiterate 3rd world illegal aliens and their anchor babies. Just check out the births in LA County. 70% or so to illegal aliens and of course they don't pay one thin dime for the hospital birth services
We are will have a huge bubble of anchor babies who will be voting and I don't know what kind of work they will do since they won't be much more educated their illegal alien parents
The more Fred Thompson talks and acts like Duncan Hunter, the more I’ll support them.
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