This is not only taking place on the national stage, but lawmakers on the state level are also attacking the 14th Amendment. While unsurprisingly
Arizona Republicans have introduced legislation to challenge Jus Soli, Texas lawmakers are also moving to challenge it as well. State Representative Leo Berman, a Republican from Tyler,
has filed legislation to effectively create a second class status for child born of immigrants (undocumented or authorized) in Texas. House Bill 292 would require the local registrar to "issue a temporary report of alien birth" if the child is born to "a person who is not a citizen or national of the United States." This is the same Leo Berman who supports an
Arizona style anti-immigration bill, filed a bill to
ban "religious or cultural law," and
filed a bill require presidential candidates to provide "the original birth certificate indicating that the person is a natural-born United States citizen" to the Texas secretary of state." This is the same Leo Berman whose conspiracy theories was thoroughly debunked by Anderson Cooper during a
cringe worthy interview on CNN.
After taking a look at this proposal the only conclusion that can be made is that this is pure politics. Republicans are simply using this as a wedge issue to pander to the far right conservative base. Any attempt to pass legislation on the stat level to undermine Jus Soli would be stricken down by the courts as unconstitutional. It would be a near impossible task to attempt to amend the Constitution, which would be required because any legislation passed by Congress would also be stricken down by the courts. Even if birthright citizenship were somehow repealed, it would create a logistical nightmare. The Texas Tribune reports that lawmakers have no idea how a repeal would affect immigration policy. In fact the Tribune reports that not only would it cause a mess, but it would cost billions of dollars.
This is about Republicans abandoning principles for politics. As Marshall Fitz from the Center for American Progress puts it, "Conservatives talk in soaring terms about freedom, but freedom emanates from American soil. No one chooses where she or he is born so our Constitution endows children born on our soil with an entitlement of their own, delinked from their family's status or actions. We find it unthinkable as a nation to hold children responsible for their parents' actions. Yet conservatives' rush to eliminate birthright citizenship would do just that, and it puts them squarely outside the American tradition."
