The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that anyone born in the United States is granted US citizenship and all of the rights that citizenship entails. The amendment has been in place since 1868, almost 150 years. Today in 2010, a fresh assault on the 14th amendment has begun. Not surprisingly, the assault has come from nativist groups and individuals, many of whom have ties to white nationalist organizations.
Many of the people and organizations trying to reverse the 14th amendment argue that undocumented immigrants come here for the sole purpose of having children. They have coined the derogatory term “anchor babies.” They are also not afraid to use language that degrades women when they speak about immigrants coming here just to have children. Lindsay Graham, a republican Senator from South Carolina recently stated the following in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, “People come here to have babies. They come here to drop a child.”
In 2009, H.R. 1868, the Birthright Citizenship Act was introduced by House member Nathan Deal (R-GA). The Act currently has 93 co-sponsors, many of whom are members of the House Immigration Reform Caucus (HIRC). The Caucus was founded by notorious nativist Tom Tancredo of Colorado, who recently announced that he will be running of Governor in his home state. The current leader of HIRC is Brian Bilbray of California. Bilbray is a former lobbyist for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organization which is listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its ties to white nationalists.
At the state level, it is not surprising that Arizona’s legislature, which recently implemented most of anti-immigrant law SB1070, is leading efforts to reverse the 14th amendment. Indications are that the majority of Arizona lawmakers would be in favor of passing a bill which would eliminate birthright citizenship in the state. The man behind the push to end birthright citizenship in Arizona is state senator Russell Pearce. Pearce was the public face of SB1070 and has now turned his attention to ripping up the 14th Amendment. Pearce is a member of State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI). SLLI members across the country work closely with the hate group FAIR and its legal arm, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), to pass anti-immigrant legislation at the state and local level. Recently, the founder of SLLI, Pennsylvania Rep. Darryl Metcalfe, spoke at an anti-immigrant conference in Ohio, which also featured Robert Najmulski, a field representative for FAIR, as well as Daniel Smeriglio, an anti-immigrant activist who has ties to white nationalists. Pearce is also friends with a well-known Arizona neo-Nazi, J.T. Ready. Ready and his neo-Nazi cronies are currently patrolling the Arizona/Mexico border with high-powered rifles.
In America today, reforming the immigration system must be discussed and acted upon. A healthy debate between those with varying viewpoints is necessary. What is not necessary is the inclusion of those who have a racist agenda. Organizations that are recognized as hate groups such as FAIR and lawmakers like Russell Pearce who have close ties to neo-Nazis should not be allowed to participate in the immigration debate. Their agenda is to keep America white and immigrant free. The passing of legislation that would eliminate the 14th amendment would go a long way towards making their goal become a reality.