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ColorLines: The Roots of the GOPs Birth Citizenship Mania


by Victor Goode


August 12 2010, 11:29 AM

Republican leaders have spent the last couple of weeks reigniting a 140-year-old constitutional debate: Whether the 14th Amendment should grant citizenship to everyone born inside United States territory. South Carolina’s Sen. Lindsay Graham, who was once considered an immigration ally for Democrats, demanded Senate hearings on the matter first, and party leaders have eagerly chimed in with support.

The most recent GOP big to pile on is House Minority Leader John Boehner, who would likely become speaker if the GOP wins in November. He told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday,

I think that there is a problem. To provide an incentive for illegal immigrants to come here so that their children can be U.S. citizens does in fact draw more people to our country. I do think that it’s time to secure our borders and enforce the law, and to allow this conversation about the 14th Amendment to continue.
So what, exactly, is the “conversationâ€