Myths versus Facts of Birthright Citizenship

                The liberty principle for this Freedom Friday is our need to sift through all the myths about birthright citizenship and find the truths.  We must accept the fact that we are being “spoon fed” myths in an effort to keep us from knowing the truths. 

                Daniel Horowitz, Senior Editor of the Conservative Review, posted an interesting article entitled “Fixing the Birthright Citizenship Loophole:  Myth vs Fact.” Before listing seven myths and then sharing the truths, Horowitz shared the following statement made by Senator Harry Reid in 1993 while introducing a new immigration enforcement bill. More than ten million illegal aliens have entered this country since Senator Reid said:   

                “If making it easy to be an illegal alien isn’t enough, how about offering a reward for being an illegal immigrant?  No sane country would do that, right?  Guess again.  If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we reward that child with US citizenship and guarantee a full access to all public and social services this society provides, and that’s a lot of services.  Is it any wonder that two-thirds of the babies born at taxpayer expense in county-run hospitals in Los Angeles are born to illegal alien mothers?” (Emphasis mine.)

                This statement clearly illustrates that Senator Reid and other leaders in the Democrat Party knew the truth in 1993.  In the author’s words, the truth is that “no sane country would diminish the value of U.S. citizenship and use it to blatantly encourage illegal immigration and the growing birth tourism scam.”

                Horowitz’s seven myths are as follow:  (1) Unconditional birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution under the 14^th Amendment; (2) You must amend the 14^th Amendment in order to change the citizenship law; (3) Upholding the law in this regard means stripping citizenship from those already deemed Americans; (4) Changing birthright citizenship is radical and uncalled for; (5) Citizenship is then limited to children of citizens; (6) You are a racist if you support a fix of the birthright loophole; (7) Birthright citizenship is a red herring to stir up the masses.

                The author goes through each myth and explains why it is a myth.  His explanations can be boiled down to the fact that the Fourteenth Amendment clearly states that being born in the United States is not enough to claim citizenship.  The Fourteenth Amendment begins:  “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside” (emphasis mine).  At least one parent must be in the United States legally for the child to receive birthright citizenship.  If the parents have broken the law to be in the United States, they are here illegally and thus not “subject” to the law of our land.  The Fourteenth Amendment does not need to be amended; it simply needs to be understood correctly and enforced.  People who clamor for the enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment are not racists; we want the law applied to all people who seek to enter our nation!