An effort is underway in Arizona to extend the state's draconian anti-immigration laws even further by challenging the 14th Amendment's language "all persons born ... in the United States ... are citizens of the United States."
That would no longer be the case if Sen. Russell Pearce has his way:
The author of Arizona’s controversial immigration law is considering a new proposal that would block the children of illegal immigrants from becoming citizens if they are born in the United States.
Critics of the bill Republican state Sen. Russell Pearce is weighing say it would fly in the face of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which grants citizenship to anyone born within the country.
Pearce has been hinting for months that he may introduce legislation targeting so-called “anchor babies” but had not detailed his plan until an interview last week with Time magazine.
“This is an orchestrated effort by them to come here and have children to gain access to the great welfare state we've created,” Pearce said of Hispanic immigrants.
Pearce contended that the bill would not violate the 14th Amendment, saying only that “we would write it right.”
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is already on board:
In an interview with KGUN9 News on the eve of the hearing, Governor Brewer's message was clear: if you're here illegally, go back home. Her answer does not change in the case of families who might be separated by deportation or repatriation. Brewer said, "It is illegal to trespass into our country. It has always been illegal. And people have determined they want to take that chance, that responsibility.... They made a decision. And you pay those consequences, unfortunately."
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She told KGUN9 News, "It won't tear families apart. They can take their children back with them."
And so if the AFA's Bryan Fischer, who advocates deporting entire families if one of them is here illegally as a sign of "genuine compassion":
Members of the pro-family movement must agree. We believe in the importance of the family in general and in the importance of intact families in particular. In the name of genuine compassion, we should oppose breaking up families in the enforcement of immigration law.
Thus our repatriation policy should be to send entire families back to their land of origin if any one of them is in criminal violation of our immigration law.
If a family has a member who is here legally, and the family decides to leave him (generic use) here while the rest return to their homeland, that's their decision. They, and not the U.S. government, would be breaking up their own family. We would not be doing it to them, they would be doing it to themselves.
Americans who support both the rule of law and the importance of the family will be happy to hear that Gov. Jan Brewer agrees with them. Good for her.
So if a child was born in the United States to parents who are here illegally, they ought to be deported right along with them, even though they are US citizens ... all in the name of compassion.
