National Efforts to Strip Citizenship Rights of Children Under Way Across the Country

Quote from FAIR web site article on "Birthright Citizenship"

While the majority of this country began the new year by deciding to start counting their calories or quit smoking, anti-immigrant activists have begun this year with the goal of denying citizenship to children born in the United States who have undocumented parents.

In the first week of January these activists announced their goal for this legislation in Washington, DC. Among those present was Russel Pearce, Republican senator from Arizona and chief promoter of the SB 1070 law which criminalizes undocumented people, and John Kavanagh from Arizona's state House of Representatives.

The "anchor baby" law was created with the help of Kansas' Secretary of State Kris Koback, who has also been connected with Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (FAIR) and the Institute for Immigration Law Reform (IRLI), two prominent anti-immigration organizations. Kobach is considered the architect of SB 1070, and the litigious brain behind the proposals to prohibit renting property to undocumented people in Pennsylvania, Texas and Nebraska, and impede students from paying college tuition in Kansas and California.

It is anticipated that during 2011 legislators in at least 13 states, other than Arizona, will propose laws to deny constitutional rights to the children of undocumented people. The initiatives will be introduced in Alabama, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.

These legislations of anti-immigration activists will open various legal battles intending to find a way for the Supreme Court to contend with the meaning of the 14 Amendment of the Constitution, and determine whether the children of undocumented immigrants are outside the jurisdiction of the US, and therefore have no right to automatic citizenship. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, establishes that all people born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of this country. The United States adopted the doctrine of 'jus soli," or right to the land, which grants citizenship to all individuals who are born in this country, independent of parents' nationality. This is a standard practice in 90% of countries.

The ex-representative of the house of representatives and governor of Georgia, Nathan Deal, presented on three occasions, 2005, 2007 and 2009, proposals meant to eliminate citizenship, and against the "jus soli" amendment. Deal's project establishes that only the children of at least one citizen or legal resident can acquire citizenship when born on American territory. During last year's electoral campaign Senate Republican from South Carolina Lindsey Graham announced he was in favor of changing the 14th Amendment. A few of his fellow party members have stated that they would be willing to hold a hearing about this proposal. The difficult part is that the modification of a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds parts of votes from the Senate and House of Representatives, and the ratification from three fourths of state legislators.

It is much more difficult than resolving on New Year's Eve to rid yourself of heartbreak.