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Constitutional Ways to Curb ‘Birth Tourism’
Wall Street Journal ^ | November 11, 2018 | Dave Seminara

Posted on 11/12/2018 9:59:12 AM PST by reaganaut1

Birth tourism is real. Foreign women come to America to give birth to U.S. citizens. When I worked as a consular officer at U.S. embassies overseas, I frequently interviewed mothers-to-be for their visa applications. And I was often compelled to renew U.S. passports for children who had been born in America but never lived there. I complied with the law but felt as if I was complicit in a scam.

When applying for visas, few prospective birth tourists admitted their intentions, even though it isn’t illegal for foreign visitors to give birth in the U.S. Women wearing heavy coats in the middle of summer to conceal their bulging bellies would swear they couldn’t wait to visit a long-lost cousin they hadn’t seen in 20 years. When they’d return a little later to renew their tourist visas—new children with U.S. passports in tow—I’d ask for evidence they’d paid their medical bills. I’d frequently hear “I never got a bill” or “No one ever asked us to pay.”

Some of these applicants could have been refused under the Immigration and Nationality Act’s “public charge” provision, which covers aliens likely to become primarily dependent on government assistance. But we were discouraged from doing so, as it was difficult to prove and invited complaints. In 2017 consular officers adjudicated more than 13 million nonimmigrant visa applications. Only 47 were refused under the public-charge provision.

Consular work can be stressful, but there was nothing more frustrating than issuing American passports for children, teens and young adults who could not speak English and had never lived in the U.S. It wasn’t their fault—their parents had gamed our system, acquiring passports as a kind of ultimate souvenir.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Government
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 11/12/2018 9:59:12 AM PST by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

I am really starting to envy these people. I, too, am beginning to wish there was a better country to which I could go.


2 posted on 11/12/2018 10:02:34 AM PST by wastoute (Government cannot redistribute wealth. Government can only redistribute poverty.)
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To: reaganaut1

Automatic birth citizenship - irrespective of the citizenship of the parents. What a crazy and destructive idea.


3 posted on 11/12/2018 10:03:33 AM PST by neverevergiveup
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To: wastoute

“I, too, am beginning to wish there was a better country to which I could go.”

At this point, as crazy as things have gotten, I’m beginning to wish there was a better planet to which I could go.


4 posted on 11/12/2018 10:05:26 AM PST by neverevergiveup
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To: reaganaut1

Couldn’t read the rest since it’s behind their paywall but I gather WSJ thinks birthright citizenship for non-citizen visitors and illegal aliens is a constituitional right granted by the 14th amendment. This is not clear at all and needs to be tested by an executive order from President Donald J. Trump.


5 posted on 11/12/2018 10:06:01 AM PST by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" (Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius (170 BC - 86 BC))
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To: neverevergiveup

I guess ‘have gotten’ should be ‘have become’.


6 posted on 11/12/2018 10:07:41 AM PST by neverevergiveup
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To: neverevergiveup

Worse yet, we have allegedly conservative Freepers who think they are natural born citizens, eligible to be President.


7 posted on 11/12/2018 10:07:47 AM PST by Lurkinanloomin (Natural Born Citizen Means Born Here of Citizen Parents__Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: reaganaut1

I have a colleague who came in a recent wave of refugees... while most of his compatriots were struggling with lawyers and all of that to legalize themselves, he simply pulled his blue passport out of the safety deposit box and came through the front door. His parents had had the foresight to fly to the US when she was about to give birth. He never used his US citizenship until the bad times came, but it had been there as an insurance policy all his life.


8 posted on 11/12/2018 10:29:06 AM PST by marron
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To: Lurkinanloomin

“Worse yet, we have allegedly conservative Freepers who think they are natural born citizens, eligible to be President.”

I’ve been noticing that as well.


9 posted on 11/12/2018 10:40:22 AM PST by Clutch Martin (The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right.)
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To: reaganaut1

Its a scam of the highest order, which is also supporting criminals.

Common in NY, LA and SF are Chinese “birthing centers.” Expectant mothers pay up to $80,000 cash to live in an apartment complex with other expecting mothers. The woman gives birth there, and the “birthing center” has a lawyer fill out paperwork to get the baby a US passport. These places have limited medical facilities (to skirt legal approvals or FDA requirements) so if there is a problem - the Chinese mother is sent to the public hospital, where of course she is treated, no questions asked. Of course, neither the “birthing center” or the mother pay any bills which come later.


10 posted on 11/12/2018 10:40:22 AM PST by PGR88
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To: reaganaut1; All
Regarding constitutional ways to curb birth tourism, Thomas Jefferson had written the following generalization.
"The true key for the construction of everything doubtful in a law is the intention of the law-makers [emphasis added] . This is most safely gathered from the words, but may be sought also in extraneous circumstances provided they do not contradict the express words of the law." --Thomas Jefferson to Albert Gallatin, 1808.

That being noted, the congressional record shows that the constitutional lawmaker who pushed for the inclusion of the jurisdiction clause in Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, Sen. Jacob Howard, had clarified exceptions (yes, there's common sense exceptions) to the jurisdiction clause as follows.

"Every person born within the limits of the United States, and subject to their jurisdiction, is by virtue of natural law and national law a citizen of the United States. This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens [emphasis added], who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States, but will include every other class of persons. It settles the great question of citizenship and removes all doubt as to what persons are or are not citizens of the United States. This has long been a great desideratum in the jurisprudence and legislation of this country." A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875 Congressional Globe, Senate, 39th Congress, 1st Session Page 2890 of 3840

The bottom line concerning Democratic politically correct birth tourism is this imo. As a consequence of having no vision for the future like Pres. Trump does, post-17th Amendment ratification Democrats have unthinkingly and unconscionably promoted and funded the vote-winning murder of unborn children, children that would otherwise probably have grown up to be Democratic voters.

But one consequence of doing so is this. Lawless Democrats have promoted the murder of so many children in fact, shooting both feet off, that they are now scrambling to unlawfully register as a Democratic voter everybody who has ever lived in an effort to try to restore their voter pool.

11 posted on 11/12/2018 10:56:39 AM PST by Amendment10
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To: reaganaut1

Nothing requires birthright citizenship. Period. We need to end it.


12 posted on 11/12/2018 11:43:33 AM PST by TBP (Progressives lack compassion and tolerance. Their self-aggrandizement is all that matters.)
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To: reaganaut1

Children born to US Military in foreign countries on US Military bases have a B.C. from that country, and from American Consulate. Then they have a US Passport at a few days old. My Step Daughter had both Japanese and American Disconsolate B.C.’s. At 18 she had to declare the country of choice. Doesn’t really make them a citizen of that country, just that they were born there.


13 posted on 11/12/2018 11:55:39 AM PST by GailA (Wife of RET. SCPO, GET OVER IT, DONALD TRUMP IS PRESIDENT!)
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To: Menehune56

I google the title https://forimmediaterelease.net/constitutional-methods-to-curb-birth-tourism-5-662266/


14 posted on 11/12/2018 11:57:38 AM PST by GailA (Wife of RET. SCPO, GET OVER IT, DONALD TRUMP IS PRESIDENT!)
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To: reaganaut1

The Republic was going well for a few generations.


15 posted on 11/12/2018 12:59:11 PM PST by shanover (...To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.-S.Adams)
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To: wastoute

Well, you might want to consider this...
https://metallicman.com/laoban4site/nations-that-an-american-man-could-travel-and-relocate-to-part-2/


16 posted on 11/12/2018 3:39:06 PM PST by vannrox (The Preamble to the Bill of Rights - without it, our Bill of Rights is meaningless!)
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To: shanover

Now for something else...

Did you know that all Americans must pay American taxes, even if they NEVER set foot in the USA. Yeah. It’s true.

So all of these anchor babies, owe American taxes the moment they start working, and it accumulates with every year that they fail to pay taxes. Before you know it, they owe millions of dollars to the IRS, and they have never set foot in the USA. All those Chinese... once they have money, can lose it all in a nanosecond.

Do’t misunderstand. I think that this is a terrible law. However, not everything is all peaches and cream for anchor babies. They just don’t know about it yet.

Read about it here;
https://metallicman.com/laoban4site/today-america-taxes-its-expats-without-representation/


17 posted on 11/12/2018 3:51:10 PM PST by vannrox (The Preamble to the Bill of Rights - without it, our Bill of Rights is meaningless!)
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