Bill: Illegal immigrants' children would not be citizens
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Bill: Illegal immigrants' children would not be citizens
By Ivy Dai, Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - 12:42:56 AM PST
Bill co-sponsored by Rep. Gary Miller, R-Brea, would deny citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States, but opponents say the bill uses immigrants as a scapegoat for poorly developed policies.
‘‘If you’re coming here illegally, you shouldn’t be benefiting from it,’’ Miller said. ‘‘If I rob a bank, and left some money to my kids, should they be allowed to keep it?’’
About 1 million people legally enter the United States from other countries each year, and an additional estimated 500,000 cross the border undocumented, according to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which supports the bill.
The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to individuals born in the United States, though the 1868 ratification of the amendment was intended to give citizenship to freed slaves, according to federation spokesman Ira Mehlman.
‘‘It was intended to apply to a specific group of people – it wasn’t likely that people could travel thousands of miles to give birth to a child in a different country,’’ Mehlman said.
At least 10 million undocumented immigrants live in the United States; one-third of them in California.
The state spends about $7.7 billion each year to educate 1 million children born to undocumented immigrants, according to Mehlman.
Cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers and deporting illegal immigrants is Miller’s solution to the problem, but opponents of the bill say it’s impossible to deport 10 million to 12 million people.
‘‘It’s another attempt to blame the immigrant community for the issues of the United States,’’ said Ben Monterroso, western regional director for Service Employees International Union.
Former Rep. Brian Bilbray from San Diego introduced a similar bill in the late 1990s, but was unsuccessful in getting it passed.
The current bill, HR 698, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee in February and advocates for and against the bill say it won’t go far.
‘‘I came to this country undocumented. I’m a citizen now,’’ Monterroso said. ‘‘My son was born here, and right now he’s fighting in Baghdad defending this country.
‘‘If crossing the border is considered a crime, the crime that was committed 200 years ago for people who wanted a better future for their family, I’m guilty of that.’’
Edit: Link by Mr_Magoo
