Thread: Key GOP lawmaker wants bill ending birthright citizenship

Key GOP lawmaker wants bill ending birthright citizenship

By Michael O'Brien - 11/05/10 03:45 PM ET

A newly empowered House GOP lawmaker said he hopes to advance legislation to end the right of U.S. citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the United States.

Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a staunch opponent of illegal immigration who will become chairman of a key subcommittee handling immigration rules, said that he thinks he'll be able to pass a bill out of the House to end the Constitution's birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.

"I think we are at least in the House," King told the conservative website Newsmax when asked if the new Congress would pass legislation to address so-called "anchor babies."

"I think it's time to put a marker down," King said, acknowledging the difficulty of passing such legislation in the Senate, and getting President Obama to sign it. "And I think we will have the votes in the House to put an end to the anchor babies in this country."

Conservatives opposed to illegal immigration have sought to change the law to deny citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants who are born in the U.S., complaining of "birthplace tourism." The conservative Republicans accuse illegal immigrants of purposefully having their children in the U.S. in order to give the newborn citizenship, and make it easier for parents and family members to legally stay in the U.S.

Birthright citizenship is a right contained within the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and was ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War. Modifying those rights would seem to require a constitutional amendment, though some in the GOP contend such a move is unnecessary.

Republican leaders including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have expressed openness to legislation addressing the law in the past, while House Speaker-to-be John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said such proposals are "worth considering."

King said he didn't believe a constitutional amendment was necessary, and that, even if the bill were stalled, it was an important priority to pursue. He'll be in a unique position to advance such legislation, when he assumes the chairmanship of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law in January.

"It's not a constitutional provision. It doesn't require a constitutional amendment. We can fix it by statute," he said. "And we need to put the marker down and push this thing forward. If we can't get it past the president, then at least we will have made the case for the president, and have set the stage."

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I think the Dems have gotten a real wakeup call and enough Dems in the Senate may agree to vote for this Bill. Especially when they have hundreds of thousand phone calls/faxes urging them to vote for it or else 2012.

Originally Posted by USPatriot

I think the Dems have gotten a real wakeup call and enough Dems in the Senate may agree to vote for this Bill. Especially when they have hundreds of thousand phone calls/faxes urging them to vote for it or else 2012.

Absolutely USPatriot! I'm just so happy to see all these Republicans coming right out just 2 and 3 days after the election making it clear as crystal to illegal aliens, their governments, their employers, their advocates, sponsors, aiders, abetters and harborers, that this party is ... over.

Between the work of Lamar Smith as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Steve King as Chairman of the Immigration Committee and Pete King as Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Darrel Issa as Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, plus what the States are ramping up to do with the full support of the Republicans in Congress, trust me, this illegal immigration travesty is finished. We still have to keep the pressure on, big time, and it will take a few months to get the legislation through, but, it will happen. Americans are awake and citizen Democrats don't want illegal aliens or their anchor babies in our country any more than Republicans, so America is uniting and the Republicans will lead US to the finish line.

National Council of La Raza, MALDEF, LULAC, Southern Poverty Law Center ... you need to get your "resooomes" updated, because you won't have any illegal aliens to pander to once we get finished.

Originally Posted by USPatriot

I think the Dems have gotten a real wakeup call and enough Dems in the Senate may agree to vote for this Bill. Especially when they have hundreds of thousand phone calls/faxes urging them to vote for it or else 2012.

I agree ... I'm so happy to hear this!!!

WOW, I would love to see this happen!!!!

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This must be done and would be a crucial component in alleviating the impact of this illegal invasion currently being subjected to.

I'm glad to see that they are finally letting it be known it does not require an amendment. It was never intended to allow illegal immigrants to cross our border and give birth.

The news keeps getting better for us ! I think we are finally starting to turn this thing around. In 2012 we will have a "once In a lifetime" chance to permanantly change the course of OUR COUNTRY with regard to Illegal Immigration. Fantastic news !!! TS

Yes this is good news.

Any person born in the United States whose parents are in the country illegally at the time of birth shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose of citizenship.