A Simple Middle Ground to Birthright Citizenship
Tension between the political parties have occurred as of late not giving room for compromise. Illegal immigration is a hot topic that causes a large divide. Articles like "The Case for Birthright Citizenship", by Linda Chavez have shown the argument of fundamentally reading the fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. This Amendment states that any person born on United States soil is automatically given citizenship as an American. George F. Will, author of "An Argument to be Made About Immigrant Babies and Citizenship", explains that the fourteenth amendment was set in place to grant African Americans citizenship after the abolition of slavery; mass waves of illegal immigration was unheard of due to the lax immigration laws allowing almost anyone to become a citizen.
Proponents of Linda Chavez's viewpoint see repealing the amendment as a step backwards. In 1882, The United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act as a racial prejudice against immigrant Chinese laborers looking for work. This act prevented immigration of the Chinese, their ability to own property and marry, and the ability to remain a citizen if ever leaving and attempting to re-enter America. Years …show more content…
George Will explains that this law also gives incentive to illegal activity. Those from south of our border cross illegally and have children here to grant them the citizenship they could not receive legally. "Congress has heard testimony estimating that more than two-thirds of all births in Los Angeles public hospitals, and more than half of all births in that city, and nearly 10 percent of all births in the nation in recent years, have been to mothers who are here illegally.", according to a Congress testimony. To most it shows how this amendment has created an epidemic of illegal
Tension between the political parties have occurred as of late not giving room for compromise. Illegal immigration is a hot topic that causes a large divide. Articles like "The Case for Birthright Citizenship", by Linda Chavez have shown the argument of fundamentally reading the fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. This Amendment states that any person born on United States soil is automatically given citizenship as an American. George F. Will, author of "An Argument to be Made About Immigrant Babies and Citizenship", explains that the fourteenth amendment was set in place to grant African Americans citizenship after the abolition of slavery; mass waves of illegal immigration was unheard of due to the lax immigration laws allowing almost anyone to become a citizen.
Proponents of Linda Chavez's viewpoint see repealing the amendment as a step backwards. In 1882, The United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act as a racial prejudice against immigrant Chinese laborers looking for work. This act prevented immigration of the Chinese, their ability to own property and marry, and the ability to remain a citizen if ever leaving and attempting to re-enter America. Years …show more content…
George Will explains that this law also gives incentive to illegal activity. Those from south of our border cross illegally and have children here to grant them the citizenship they could not receive legally. "Congress has heard testimony estimating that more than two-thirds of all births in Los Angeles public hospitals, and more than half of all births in that city, and nearly 10 percent of all births in the nation in recent years, have been to mothers who are here illegally.", according to a Congress testimony. To most it shows how this amendment has created an epidemic of illegal