Audio at source

Should U.S. deny citizenship to children of illegal immigrants? Two views

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Yes. Some exploit birthright citizenship to dodge deportation.

Georgia Rep. Nathan Deal’s pending legislation in Congress that would end the lunacy of awarding birthright citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal alien parents should have become law when he first introduced it six years ago. It should be passed into law now.

It won’t be. But the issue needs to be discussed.

One of the myths surrounding the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the current convoluted misinterpretation of its birthright citizenship clause is that automatic U.S. citizenship is granted to every child born on American soil.

It is not. Doing so was never the intention of Congress.

Despite lawfully present parents, children born in the United States to diplomats and other public ministers of foreign nations are not awarded what is arguably the most coveted and valuable title in the world: “United States citizen.â€