Posted on 09/29/2007 7:47:05 AM PDT by Congressman Billybob
Ping. I think you have thought about this issue also.
Mexican women who are eight months pregnant are dying every month in the deserts on the border, trying to have their child here as "an American."
A bit of hyperbole, perhaps?
>>But trying to muck with the text of the Constitution isnt the way we should be doing this as conservatives we should treat the Constitution with the reverence it deserves and not take the liberal cop-out of ignoring the text and just pretending it says what they want it to say.<<
The trouble is, “the liberal cop-out” is how we got to this interpretation that makes children of illegals citizens. That interpretation contradicts the written intentions of the authors of the 14th amendment and common sense.
>>A bit of hyperbole, perhaps?<<
No.
No.
Then I'd appreciate a source that claims that every month a Mexican woman who is in her eighth month of pregancy is dying in the desert while attempting to cross the border.
I'm not denying that some pregnant women have most likely died crossing the border. The part I consider hyperbole is stating that it specificaly happens every month and to Mexican women who are eight months pregnant.
In 1866, when the amendment was written, there was virtually open immigration--hardly anyone showing up at New York or elsewhere was sent back. The authors had no idea of what the situation would be 130 or 140 years later.
I've read that pregnant South Korean women will sometimes fly to the US to have their babies born in the US, then return home--the idea being that the child might later benefit from American citizenship, like in getting admitted to an American university. Obviously that is a far smaller category of "anchor babies" and much less of a practical problem.
Wonderful piece.
I do wonder about putting the 14th Amendment text “subject to the jurisdiction” into play in the political arena.
Today a certain group is problematic, and it is politically expedient to exclude them from US “jurisdiction.” Tomorrow, the political winds may shift, and another group may fall out of favor, with potentially disastrous consequences.
Further, should Congress pass legislation of the kind described in the article, there would undoubtedly be legal challenges leading all the way to the Supreme Court. Thus, the final outcome of such a bill would depend on the ideological composition of the Court, at the time the issue is brought before it.
Dishonest. Or both. But definitely, dishonest.
Great essay as usual. The problem is that the Quisling ‘rat congress will never touch such legislation, not in a thousand years.
Ditto.
http://geocities.com/readerswrite/commentaries/Blessings_of_the_Liberty.htm#note4
As the author of the article aptly pointed out, the U.S. Congress is authorized to clarify this misinterpretation. For instance, persons that fall under jurisdiction of foreign countries (for instance, American-born children of Mexican citizens) are not “subject to jurisdiction thereof” in the sense of 14th Amendment.
Anchor Babies - 14th amend ping
It’s my understanding that this whole anchor baby fiasco started somewhere around 1950 because of a ruling around 1900 that granted a guy citizenship who was born here to two legal people. Did something happen somewhere along the way that specifically says anchors are citizens or did they just pick the ball up and run with it?
John / Billybob
John / Billybob
Hoo, boy! If you're just an ignorant FReeper like me, click on the link for a definition.
BillyBob, thank you for posting this. As I read the original article, I was thinking that maybe this could be fixed via legislation and that a constitutional amendment would not be needed. Thanks for the excellent clafification.
John / Billybob
John / Billybob
Maybe this is too broad? What about the shopping visa scenario of reply #19?
Maybe it should just simply be, "Babies born to those who are not American citizens are not American citizens and are not eligible for any of the benefits due American citizens?"
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