'One nation -- except for you'

The 14th Amendment has never been interpreted to apply to some and exclude others, until now
By Hector Villagra
01/20/2011

This month a small group of conservative lawmakers announced they had set their eyes on the 14th Amendment as the latest target in the war over immigration reform.

Such an attack marks an unprecedented move by elected officials to dismantle the Constitution.

Under the proposal unveiled two weeks ago at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, lawmakers would essentially create a two-tier system of citizenship. State legislators would move to adopt rules allowing them to exclude those born in the US to undocumented immigrant parents. Such laws would immediately come into conflict with the constitutional provision that bestows citizenship to any child born in this country.

Backers hope the conflict between the state and federal government will wind up in federal court.

Adopted in the wake of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to black slaves who were long denied such rights. Its broader interpretation was reaffirmed in 1898, when the US Supreme Court ruled that the US-born child of Chinese immigrants was a citizen of this country. At the time, Chinese immigrants were excluded from naturalizing and their US-born children faced being rendered stateless.

Since then, the 14th Amendment has been rightfully understood to bestow citizenship to any person born in the US. It has never been interpreted to apply to some and exclude others.

Sadly, the current push to make such a distinction reminds us that immigration has long divided our nation, particularly during difficult economic times.

The current backers of the proposal are simply introducing another painful chapter in that long and troubled history that has targeted Italian, German, Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Arab, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim and other newcomers.
Californians are all too familiar with such poorly thought out initiatives.

In 1994, undocumented immigrants were blamed for the Golden State’s economic woes.

Republican leaders unveiled Proposition 187. Known as the Save our State ballot initiative, it sought to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving educational, medical and other social services. Proponents argued such punitive steps would push undocumented immigrants to return home and help restore jobs and wages in California.

Voters passed the measure. A federal judge tossed out key parts of the plan. Ultimately, efforts to revive Proposition 187 were abandoned in 1999, after a lengthy and expensive legal battle.

Like Proposition 187, those who attack the 14th Amendment blame undocumented immigrants and their so-called “anchor babiesâ€