Thread: AZ. Legislature Takes Up 'Anchor Babies' Bill

Legislature Takes Up 'Anchor Babies' Bill

Updated: Monday, 07 Feb 2011, 7:32 AM MST
Published : Monday, 07 Feb 2011, 7:32 AM MST

PHOENIX - 'Anchor babies' is a term used to tag children born in the United States to illegal parents.

More than a thousand people could be here protesting.

Senate Bills 1308 and 1309 were introduced by Mesa State Senator Russell Pearce and Ron Gould. They would deny birth certificates to children born in Arizona to parents who are not legal U.S. citizens, blocking any chance of the child becoming a citizen.

Critics say it violates the 14th amendment, which grants citizenship to babies born on American soil.

Sen. Pearce defends it by saying the 14th amendment has been hijacked by illegal immigrants, adding that illegals come here to have children only to gain access to welfare and benefits.

Those against the bill say it discriminates and divides the community.

Protesters will be showing up at the capital around 1:00 p.m. with their 1,000 baby chain. Those babies will be with their mothers and fathers. The protest is sponsored by the Border Action Network.

The bills will be taken up Monday afternoon around 2:00 p.m.

http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/im ... e-02072011

Hearings to begin on immigration legislation on automatic citizenship

VideoPhoto
Photographer: KNXV
Posted: 10:24 AM
Last Updated: 40 minutes ago

PHOENIX - State lawmakers will hear two bills Monday that focus on a new angle of the immigration debate: children.

One bill aims to change the requirements of citizenship for children born to immigrants. The other will require two kinds of birth certificates and direct the governor to enter into a pact with other states on the matter.

"The issue is whether a child born to illegal immigrant parents in the U.S. is a citizen," said Senator Ron Gould of Lake Havasu City.

Gould says he sponsored the bill to stop the flow of illegal immigrants who come to the United States and give birth.

Under the 14th Amendment, that child automatically receives citizenship.

Supporters of the proposal argue that the wording of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to people born in the U.S. who are "subject to the jurisdiction" of this country, doesn't
apply to the children of illegal immigrants because such families don't owe sole allegiance to the U.S.

Opponents say the proposal is mean-spirited toward immigrants, won't make a dent in the state's immigration woes, and will be declared unconstitutional by the courts.

"This bill we take very personal," resident Sandra Castro said.

Born in the United States to illegal immigrants, Castro sees this bill as a slap in the face.

"We just take it as a personal attack and we feel it's something that's just targeted as another anti-immigration tactic," Castro said.

But the sponsors of the bills, Gould and Rep. John Kavanaugh, said there are many reasons to tackle this issue.

"It encourages illegal immigration and it greatly increases the cost to state governments," Kavanaugh said.

"We want the Supreme Court to rule on the issue of children being born to illegal immigrants, which they've never really done," Gould said.

They are joining about a dozen other states in filing a birthright citizenship bill.

The other bill requires officials to issue two kinds of birth certificates. One would be issued to children who have at least one parent who is a citizen of the United States or a legal resident. Another would be issued to children whose parents are not documented.

"We can't get Congress to move so we're going to try and get the ball rolling at the local level," Kavanaugh said, hoping after the bill passes either the U.S. Supreme Court or the U.S. Congress will have to act.

"Because the federals won't engage, they wont do anything," Gould said.

That leaves Castro to wonder why they want to change anything at all.

"We're tomorrow's teachers, we're tomorrow's firefighters, we're tomorrow's workers so we benefit this society and I don't understand why we're being targeted," said Castro.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_ph ... egislation

the CNN news show at Noon Central was talking about the 14th amendment and actually read part of it and were asking viewers what they thought.

they also showed a live clip of some grown man standing outside the state house wearing clothes and a diaper