AZ: Birthright-citizenship bills pulled

[nhboy]

Birthright-citizenship bills pulled


"PHOENIX - A bid to deny citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants faltered Monday when proponents could not get the votes of a Senate panel.

After more than three hours of testimony at the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, yanked the two measures. Gould said he lacked the backing of four other members of the Republican-controlled panel, which he chairs.

Gould said he will keep trying to secure votes. And Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said, if necessary, he will reassign the proposal to a more friendly committee.

The failure came despite Gould's allowing John Eastman, a Chapman University law professor, to argue for more than an hour that there is no legal basis for the current practice of giving citizenship to all children based on the location of their birth. Eastman said passing the two measures proposed by Gould would finally give the nation's high court a chance to squarely address the scope of the 14th Amendment.

The amendment says that persons born in this country and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" are considered U.S. citizens.

Gould and Pearce contend that was never the intent of those who wrote the measure approved after the Civil War. The intent was solely to clarify that former slaves and their children were entitled to citizenship despite a pre-war court decision declaring the contrary, they argue."

 

[philibusters]

National citizenship definitely cannot be determined by the state. It could be done on the federal level (most plausible through an amendment ot the Constitution). As for state citizenship, I don't know how that would work, but the 14th amendment would likely come into play.

Overall, that something where the right way to handle it is at the national level.

 

[SamSpade]

National citizenship definitely cannot be determined by the state. It could be done on the federal level (most plausible through an amendment ot the Constitution). As for state citizenship, I don't know how that would work, but the 14th amendment would likely come into play.

Overall, that something where the right way to handle it is at the national level.

Understood. The problem is, Washington doesn't WANT to deal with it, and it is a problem that Arizona seriously suffers from.

 

[DipStick]

National citizenship definitely cannot be determined by the state. It could be done on the federal level (most plausible through an amendment ot the Constitution). As for state citizenship, I don't know how that would work, but the 14th amendment would likely come into play.

Overall, that something where the right way to handle it is at the national level.

Yep, this was purely political grandstanding... much like HCR repeal in the House is. Arizona knows this law will get struck down by the courts within days, just like House Republicans knew HCR repeal would never pass the Senate.