Thread: Arizona lawmakers target automatic citizenship

Arizona lawmakers target automatic citizenship

By Jacques Billeaud
The Associated Press Arizona Daily Star
January 27, 2011 3:45 pm

PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers are again diving into the national debate over illegal immigration by proposing a bill that challenges automatic U.S. citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.

The proposal Thursday comes after Arizona last year enacted one of the nation’s toughest local laws targeting illegal immigration.

Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, who filed the latest proposal, said the goal isn’t to get every state in the union to enact such a law, but rather to bring the dispute to the courts in hopes of reducing the costs associated with granting automatic citizenship.

“The result of that is they immediately acquire the right to full benefits, everything from welfare to cheese, which increases the costs to the states,â€

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“There is some evidence that our preoccupation with these issues has hurt our tourism industry in particular,â€