The Question of Birthright Citizenship

[Geee]

Front Page Magazine:

The Question of Birthright Citizenship
Posted by Russell Pearce on Jun 24th, 2010

When the open borders lobby runs out of excuses for amnesty, their final resort is to “do it for the children.” Last year Nancy Pelosi told a crowd in San Francisco that “Our future is about our children” and, “Taking parents from their children … that’s un-American.”
When the Speaker of the House considers enforcing our immigration laws “un-American,” it becomes the constitutional duty of the States to stand against illegal immigration. This is why I introduced SB 1070 into the Arizona legislature, which has prompted a much needed national debate about immigration.

Sure enough, we’ve heard the same complaints about separating families. Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) put together a Congressional panel against SB 1070. He trotted out ten-year-old Catherine Figueroa whose illegal alien parents had stolen identities of American citizens and were detained. She sobbed lines that no doubt were scripted by her handlers: “Please help us, children don’t know what to do without their parents.”

I truly sympathize with Catherine, but her law-breaking parents are the ones responsible for her situation. SB 1070 and all other immigration laws do not split up families. Arizona Jan Brewer very sensibly pointed out that there is nothing stopping the children from going back with their parents to their nation of origin.

But the truth is that these people do not care about reuniting families. They simply use children like Catherine for cheap political gain.
She is not the first. A few years ago, the poster child and poster mother for breaking immigration law under the guise of not “separating families” was Elvira Arellano and her son Saul. Elvira, who had been deported in 1997, broke back into the country and obtained a fraudulent social security number. In 2002, she was arrested for Social Security fraud, but due to our lax immigration courts, she was released and wasn’t ordered to see an immigration judge until 2006.

With these facts, most Americans would see this as yet another example of how we fail to enforce our laws. But Elvira had an illegitimate son with an unknown father in 1999. Under a misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, Saul became a US Citizen.
Instead of going to court, Elvira holed herself up in Adalberto United Methodist Church in Chicago–which proclaimed iself a “sanctuary”–and stayed there for a year. Meanwhile, Saul travelled to Mexico where he spoke before the Mexican Congress to attack our laws. Eventually, Elvira snuck out and was detained and deported.

She then started a group called La Familia Latina Unida (United Latino Family) in Mexico. But instead of bringing her son with her, pro illegal alien activists have given him legal guardianship and they parade him across the country away from his mother.
This would not be a problem if we ended our absurd practice of giving birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens.
The 14th Amendment states “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.” This clause was added specifically for the purpose of ensuring that the children of freed slaves would receive American citizenship.

The drafters of this Amendment made it very clear that this was not intended for illegal aliens.

[Guest AnneV]

The 14th Amendment should be repealed along with Obamacare

[Casino67]

The 14th Amendment should be repealed along with Obamacare

 

 

Repealing the 14th has a long, unsuccessful history.

[righteousmomma]

Speaking of birthright we have this currently going on here in Raleigh:

 

 

By Sarah Ovaska - Staff writer

 

RALEIGH -- Three young women who came to this country as children and are now illegal immigrants are staging a hunger strike in an attempt to convince U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan to back a bill that could make them legal residents.

 

The women – Rosario Lopez, 25, Viridiana Martinez, 23, and Loida Silva, 22 – have set up tents across the street from the state legislative building in downtown Raleigh and subsisted on water, Pedialtye and Gatorade since June 14.

 

They have lost 23 pounds collectively and said they're growing weaker by the day but plan on continuing the hunger strike and camping out in the impromptu protest site they've secured near the state Legislature.

Quantcast

 

"If we don't do it, no one else is going to," Silva said in an earlier interview about the hunger strike. "Our parents broke the law, we didn't have a say in that."

 

Silva and Martinez arrived with their families when they were children on legitimate travel visas, but overstayed those visas after their families were unable to get permanent residency. Lopez was 13 when she, her mother and two siblings were smuggled across the Mexican border to join their father, who was already living in the Triangle. Lopez said the family was starving because her mother couldn't make enough to feed the family and her father had been injured during his own trip to the United States and unable to work.

 

They held a press conference this afternoon in front of Hagan's New Bern Avenue office in the federal courthouse.

 

All three women freely admit they are living in the country illegally and are angry and frustrated at the barriers in the U.S. immigration laws that leave them with slim chances of going on to college or getting jobs other under-the-table work.

 

The trio are trying to pressure Hagan, North Carolina’s Democratic senator, to sign on to what’s being called the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education of Alien Minors Act). The federal legislation, which has floated around Congress for years, would give children who came to the U.S. illegally a chance to get permanent resident status if they attend college or join the military. It would also open up chances to take out federal student loans and enable them to pay in-state tuition for their home states.

 

Hagan, who is in Washington today, announced Tuesday afternoon she would not sign on to become a co-sponsor. U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is also not backing the bill.

 

Critics of the bill have said it would be rewarding immigrants who come to the country illegally, encourage more foreign-parents to smuggle their children and would be unfair to those who wait years to come to the country legally.

 

"It's a slippery slope and for a lot of Americans, it's a Bad Dream Act," said Ron Woodard of NC Listen, an advocacy group pushing for more immigration enforcement. "It's going to encourage more illegal immigration."

 

For a fuller report on the hunger strike, please check back on www.newsobserver.com or in tomorrow's print edition of The News & Observer.

 

Read more: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/06/22/546169/illegal-immigrants-on-hunger-strike.html#ixzz0rlxw287N

[Pepper]

The women – Rosario Lopez, 25, Viridiana Martinez, 23, and Loida Silva, 22 – have set up tents across the street from the state legislative building in downtown Raleigh and subsisted on water, Pedialtye and Gatorade since June 14.

 

How's that a successful strike?

 

It can take up top 4 to 6 weeks with water. They should starve AND dehydrate themselves within a day of death to prove their point. Then deport them.

 

In case you missed this, no sympathy here.

[Guest AnneV]

The 14th Amendment should be repealed along with Obamacare

 

 

Repealing the 14th has a long, unsuccessful history.

 

So does electing Democrats!

I say we learn from the mistakes of the past, correct them, and move on. Just because something has failed in the past, doesn't mean it can't succeed in the future, especially in this case, when so much has changed since the last effort at repealing the Amendment.

[Argyle58]

The 14th Amendment should be repealed along with Obamacare

 

 

Repealing the 14th has a long, unsuccessful history.

 

So does electing Democrats!

I say we learn from the mistakes of the past, correct them, and move on. Just because something has failed in the past, doesn't mean it can't succeed in the future, especially in this case, when so much has changed since the last effort at repealing the Amendment.

 

If the Feds would simply close the border and enforce the immigration laws on the books, this wouldn't be an issue.

[Valin]

he women – Rosario Lopez, 25, Viridiana Martinez, 23, and Loida Silva, 22 – have set up tents across the street from the state legislative building in downtown Raleigh and subsisted on water, Pedialtye and Gatorade since June 14.

 

I feel sorry for them righteousmomma, but it begs the question...where is ICE?

Hard cases make for bad laws.

[Guest AnneV]

The 14th Amendment should be repealed along with Obamacare

 

 

Repealing the 14th has a long, unsuccessful history.

 

So does electing Democrats!

I say we learn from the mistakes of the past, correct them, and move on. Just because something has failed in the past, doesn't mean it can't succeed in the future, especially in this case, when so much has changed since the last effort at repealing the Amendment.

 

If the Feds would simply close the border and enforce the immigration laws on the books, this wouldn't be an issue.

 

You're absolutely right...but we're more likely to see pigs fly...look...there goes Miss Piggy now!

[SrWoodchuck]

IMO: Outlaw Birthright citizenship.

 

Kids drug unwillingly into the US with illegal parents get a "B" ticket to citizenship lottery, behind legal immigrants & with quotas for each nation involved.

 

Kids born on US soil to illegals get an "A" citizenship lotto ticket, with quotas enforced.

 

Immigrants of any nation or category that enlist in US Armed Forces & successfully complete full 4 to 6 year enlistment period, get immediate citizenship, as well as any injured during that service.

 

 

Want to see the end result of liberal immigration policies?

 

California sanctuary city disbands police & fires city employees to stay solvent?

[Pepper]

SrWoodChuck

 

Good plans and scary link.

[Sanguine]

As I understand it, children born to Mexican parents in the US, have dual Mexican/American citizenship. It's not a question of separating parents and children.

[octex]

Kids are not separated from parent/parents being deported, even if they are US born. The kids are minors and the parents are responsible for them, so must take them back to somewhere South of the border when deported. If the kids even manage to live to a majority age and want to exercise their US citizenship, they can simply go to a US Consulate with proper paperwork and get the necessary documents to enter the US.

 

I think it's a fouled up mess. Just as with Obama, the citizenship passed to him from his father (British), NOT from his mother who was American but had not lived in the US for at least 5 years after the age of 15 (or 16?) before giving birth. Stanley Ann Dunham Obama could not legally pass on her citizenship to Jr. in 1961. ..OCTex

[SrWoodchuck]

Kids are not separated from parent/parents being deported, even if they are US born. The kids are minors and the parents are responsible for them, so must take them back to somewhere South of the border when deported. If the kids even manage to live to a majority age and want to exercise their US citizenship, they can simply go to a US Consulate with proper paperwork and get the necessary documents to enter the US.

 

I think it's a fouled up mess. Just as with Obama, the citizenship passed to him from his father (British), NOT from his mother who was American but had not lived in the US for at least 5 years after the age of 15 (or 16?) before giving birth. Stanley Ann Dunham Obama could not legally pass on her citizenship to Jr. in 1961. ..OCTex

Octex!

 

You mean the speculation that Hawaii had been a state for only a few years & there are arcane birthright citizenship rules about children born on US Possessions & Territories.

 

According to Wikipedia: Citizenship & Nationality Law

For persons born between December 24, 1952, and November, 14, 1986, a person is a citizen if all of the following are true:

 

1.One of the persons parents was a United States citizen when the person in question was born

 

2.The citizen parent lived at least ten years in the United States before the child's birth;

 

3.A minimum of five of those ten years in the United States, were after the citizen parents 14th birthday.

 

Interestingly, the Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled on whether children born in the United States, to illegal immigrant parents are entitled to birthright citizenship via the Fourteenth Amendment,

 

One thing, though......I'd be willing to put up with BiteMe for a couple of years, as he's an idiot & would probably do less harm than Obama.......but Nan P. would then be only a heart beat away from the Presidency....assuming she has a heart.

[Sanguine]

It is an interesting situation. I know the "birthers" have been relegated to the realm of kooks and haters, but there are just too many remaining questions to dismiss them out of hand.

 

I'm willing to accept that Barama may have been born in an unspecified hospital in Hawaii, delivered by an unspecified doctor and unspecified attendants, but even so, it seems pretty clear that because of his mother's age at the time of his birth, he did not automatically get American citizenship and may have not been eligible at all. "Natural born" just can't apply here.

 

Because of the great veil of obfuscation thrown over ALL of his school records, we don't know that he attended as a foreign student or an American. We also may wonder how he paid for an expensive Ivy League education, and one pretty simple way to explain it would be if he attended as a foreign student.

 

I still wonder...

[nickydog]

Me, too, Sanguine.