Citizenship bill to be introduced in Arizona
January 05, 2011 9:35 AM
By HOWARD FISCHER, Capitol Media Services
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14th Amendment (applicable provision):

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.

Initial states pushing the plan: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah.
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PHOENIX — Arizona would claim the right to determine citizenship of those born here under the terms of legislation being introduced today.

The proposal, being unveiled in Washington, would have each state — and not the federal government — define citizenship. More to the point, citizenship would be available only to those born in the state who had at least one parent who already is a citizen or is at least a permanent legal resident.

And to make the state determination of citizenship work, the law would be backed by a compact where all participating states agree to differentiate between birth certificates issued to those who are determined under the new standard to be citizens and those who are not.

Senate President-elect Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who is working with counterparts across the nation, said he envisions the Arizona Department of Health Services being required to issue two different types of birth certificates. One would spell out the newborn is a citizen, the other saying that the certificate shows only birth, not citizenship.

It would be up to the parents to produce proof of citizenship or permanent residency to get one of the first kind of birth certificates. No proof means a birth certificate that does not confer citizenship on the child.

Pearce said the idea is to reclaim the original intent behind the 14th Amendment. He said the measure, enacted after the Civil War, was never meant to give citizenship rights to children born to people who entered this country illegally.

But Pearce said that even if the proposal becomes law in Arizona and elsewhere, that is just the beginning of the battle.

“What we’re looking for is a (U.S.) Supreme Court fight,â€