Why on Earth should a person be a citizen solely because their parents broke the law to allow them to be born on American soil?
I am a strict Constructionist. I believe that the Constitution should be upheld exactly as it was intended. The 14th Amendment is very well known in this state, yet the drafters intended for their words to be read a specific way and that is how the Constitution must be interpreted. There is no reason that the words of that document should be twisted and convoluted to allow citizenship to those that have no right to call themselves Americans.
The drafters intended to allow black slaves to be citizens. How did that idea become manipulated to the point where we allow for "anchor babies" to become citizens?
Finally, someone has stepped up and attempted to realign this country with the drafters' vision. Senate Bill 1070 opened the door to a debate that has sparked a solution to the infectious problem of illegal immigrants and false citizens. Senate Bill 1611 finally begins to crack down on this pandemic and is supported by Bills 1308 and 1309 which redefine citizenship. Hopefully this state will continue to return to the Constitutional intent and other states will follow suit so that this atrocity can be stopped.
Derek Shaull, Mesa
rothbardlovesme posted at 11:23 am on Fri, Mar 11, 2011.
You are right. Why should the get citizenship just because they are born here? Why should anyone get citizenship just because they are born here?
Social contract theory dictates that anyone born within the limits of a territory are subject to the laws of that territory. Somehow, governments consider being born in a place giving your consent to be governed. Roderick Long best described the inherent flaws in this logic when he wrote: "I think that the person who makes this argument is already assuming that the government has some legitimate jurisdiction over this territory. And then they say, well, now, anyone who is in the territory is therefore agreeing to the prevailing rules. But they’re assuming the very thing they're trying to prove – namely that this jurisdiction over the territory is legitimate. If it's not, then the government is just one more group of people living in this broad general geographical territory. But I've got my property, and exactly what their arrangements are I don't know, but here I am in my property and they don't own it – at least they haven't given me any argument that they do – and so, the fact that I am living in "this country" means I am living in a certain geographical region that they have certain pretensions over – but the question is whether those pretensions are legitimate. You can’t assume it as a means to proving it"
Furthermore, restricting the movement of people hurts markets. Period. Immigrants are good for the economy. There is no reason that we should be restricting a willing work force from coming in. History has proven that open immigration increases economic activity. People who argue for protectionists policies should look at the case study of North Korea versus South Korea. North Korea does not allow for immigration and has strict policies. South Korea is the opposite. Which one is fast becoming a global economic power?
Lastly, in response to Leon, the fact that Congressman Flake actually realizes the economic benefits of immigration and how unrealistic immigration laws are show that he is a REAL FISCAL CONSERVATIVE. A R.I.N.O. is someone who claims to be conservative but then spends billions of dollars on stupid policies that don't work because they want to appeal to their "Conservative" (Read: Xenophobic) voter base.
Slabside posted at 2:44 am on Fri, Mar 11, 2011.
Dale & LinMesa... adopt the anchor babies until your heart is content. The rest of us true Americans do not want to support them!
Leon Ceniceros posted at 11:07 pm on Thu, Mar 10, 2011.
If you think that US Senator John McCain and soon to be retiring US Senator John Kyl were ...PRO-ILLEGAL ALIEN IMMIGRATION.
Congressman JEFF FLAKE.......is worse.
In 2007, he co-sponsored (along with the most Liberal Democrat Congressman in the whole Congress.....Luis Gutierrez from Obama's district in Chicago)...the.....S.T.R.I.V.E. Act. If you thing we have a problem with 400,000 ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM MEXICO AND POINTS SOUTH..........NOW.
The.....STRIVE ACT...........would ......OPEN THE FLOOD GATES....to ...400,000 more ...so-called ...GUEST WORKERS.....these would be the .."GUEST" ...WORKERS .....from ...HELL ....because they would never be required to.....LEAVE.
They could bring the wife/husband and all the child from MEXICO & POINTS SOUTH WITH THEM TOO.............and their.............IMMEDIATE FAMILY...MOM & POP.
I am sure that Congressman JEFF FLAKE...will be giving speeches up and down our fair STATE....telling the voters what they ...WANT TO HEAR...but ....WE HAVE ALL HEARD THE SAME LIES FROM............SENATOR MCCAIN.....and ....SENATOR KYL....then once they got elected....they became instant....R.I.N.O.'s.......REPUBLICANS....IN....NAME....ONLY.
Folks, the 2012 Election will be upon us in one year. If you...DON'T.... want to see Arizona become ..........LITTLE MEXICO....with hundreds of thousands of...ILLEGAL ALIENS FROM MEXICO AND POINTS SOUTH.........DON'T VOTE FOR ANOTHER .....REPUBLICAN IN NAME ONLY....Arizonians have had their fill of ....R.I.N.O.'s...who don't support ....ARIZONA....SB1070.
Unisex posted at 10:36 pm on Thu, Mar 10, 2011.
[thumbdown] I hate the term ANCHOR BABIES..MAKES ME SAD!
Richka posted at 8:35 pm on Thu, Mar 10, 2011.
Derek, I agree with you 100%. A child is of the same nationality as the mother/parents. That's the way it is all over the world. Only those that have a stake in illegal immigration will see it differently.
I obviously didn't know the founding fathers of our country, but it's inconceivable that they would approve of what is going on now and has been over the past 25 years. We'll be another third world country. That is, unless we get busy and put a stop to this insanity.
samkat posted at 6:45 pm on Thu, Mar 10, 2011.
Dale & Lin: No problem, keep the kids and deport the parents. The parents have the choice of taking the kids with them if they so choose. However, the parents should not be allowed to jump to the head of the immigration line for entering the country illegally. As an aside, the kids as well as any immigrant should be required to disavow any other citizenship/allegiance conferred by virtue of dual nationality.
LinMesa posted at 4:21 pm on Thu, Mar 10, 2011.
Derek, I believe God's laws supersede the legislators' and the Governor's laws. And, personally, I prefer God's laws. He does so much for us we should always look to Him first. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's all in the Bible , all you have to do is read it. And remember, some day we all have to answer for all our actions.
Dale Whiting posted at 3:58 pm on Thu, Mar 10, 2011.
Derek,
When you write "There is no reason that the words of that document should be twisted and convoluted" you express an opinion, one which is not particularly well informed. Should you wish an answer to your question, the one which implies that these words have been twisted and convoluted, you can find the answer by studying the history of the 14th Amendment, not just before it was written, but as it has been understood through the decades since. Will you investigate that history and report back? Or are we just to assume you opinion, and not an answer to the question is all we need?