Religious Right Groups Join Immigration Debate

[ck4829]

After staying out of last year’s contentious immigration debate that drove a wedge among the GOP, mainstays of the Religious Right have now joined the debate saying they will support legalization of those already in this country – but only in exchange for doing away with the guarantee of birthright citizenship granted under the 14th Amendment. As CBN reported on Friday, Manuel Miranda, one of the chief activists organizing the Right in support of Bush’s extreme judicial nominees, has now put together a coalition of Religious Right leaders to influence immigration policymaking. In an attempt to supplant the anti-immigrant rhetoric that dominated discussions last year which analysts agree resulted in damaging the image of the GOP among Latino voters and decreased support for GOP candidates, Miranda claims “This new coalition is bigger and broader than the Secure Border Coalition that dominated the debate on the right in the last go round.”

Headline members include Paul Weyrich, one of the founders of “movement conservatism,” Donald Wildmon of American Family Association, Gary Bauer, American Conservative Union President David Keene, and Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition.

Today The Washington Times gives some details of the “grand compromise” sought by Families First on Immigration.

"In letters sent today and obtained by The Washington Times, Families First on Immigration urges President Bush and leaders of the new Democratic Congress to adopt a grand compromise on the divisive issue that includes strong border security, an amnesty for illegals already here who are relatives of citizens and an end to birthright citizenship."

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/2007/01/religious_right_11.html

[Kerrytravelers]

1. But the more immigrants we allow, the more people the religious wrong can harass.

:sarcasm:

[RB TexLa]

2. They've been wanting to get rid of that for a long time

[Tom Joad]

3. What part of the constitution do these extremists support?

[Bridget Burke]

13. The 2nd Amendment, of course.

Everything else is considered disposable by these folks.

[Bake]

4. Sorry, but you don't bargain away the Constitution

Specifically, the 14th Amendment, which defines citizens as anyone born or naturalized in the US.

I shudder to think what other little changes to the Constitution the Religious Right (which is neither, by the way) has in mind.

Bake

[napi21]

5. What's the deal with doing away with citizenship for a baby born here?

I'm not sure how many countriesdo this, but my neice had 2 of her 4 children in Japan while her and her husband were stationed there. Both of those children have dual citizenship. I honestly thought this was pretty standard stuff in most countries.

[RaleighNCDUer]

6. Some of these people really think that there are hordes of

aliens who, immediatly upon finding themselves pregnant, set out to hike for three days across the desert, risking themselves and their unborn, simply to be able to have the child born in the US.

Morons.

[jody]

8. Your niece's children are Japanese citizens only if one of the parents is Japanese.

Japanese nationality law

Japan is a jus sanguinis state, meaning that it recognizes citizenship by blood, not by birth (as is the case in the United States, Ireland and many other countries). Article 2 provides three situations in which a person can become a Japanese national at birth:
1. When either parent is a Japanese national at the time of birth
2. When the father dies before the birth and is a Japanese national at the time of death
3. When the person is born on Japanese soil and both parents are unknown or stateless
These rules are very strictly applied, which often creates problems for unmarried non-Japanese mothers. In such cases, unless the Japanese father gives express recognition of paternity before the birth, the child is generally not recognized as a Japanese national.

Moreover,
Legal issues

By Japanese laws, adult persons generally cannot hold both foreign citizenship and Japanese citizenship (dual nationality):

· those who have acquired dual nationality before age 20 must choose a single nationality before reaching age 22.

· those who have acquired dual nationality after age 20 must choose a single nationality in 2 years.

Many who naturalize as Japanese also adopt a Japanese name, although this is not required.

No law forbids a foreign-born Japanese to be elected as a member of Diet (as Marutei Tsurunen in fact became one), thus in theory they may become the Prime Minister of Japan.

Algeria similarly does not prohibit foreign-born people who hold Algerian citizenship from running for high office. One such instance is the current president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was born in Morocco.

Probably because of the difficulty of gaining citizenship and because of cultural difference, foreign-born Japanese people account for a very small percentage of the demography in Japan. Unlike some countries where people born natively are automatically given a citizenship, many who are born and live in Japan permanently, particularly Korean and Chinese, tend to maintain their citizenship. There has been a constant discussion among the government and lawmakers whether to give them some status similar to that of a permanent resident in the United States.

[napi21]

10. I don't know anything about Japanese law. Iam only quoting what my

sister in law told me. The father was a military officer in the US Marines, and they were stationed in Japan for 4 years. His wife gave birth to two childrenin that time, and my sister in law(the wifes mother) told me the children had dual citizenship.

In all honesty, I don't think it matters much. They have moved back to the States, the husbandhas a job in the Homeland Security Agency in Pa. and I doubt they'll ever go back to Japan. I guess my post was about other countriesand how they deal with children in their country. You may be right, but mybrother in lawhas always been a very sharp guy, and I'd be very surprised if he had this wrong.

[jody]

12. My daughter was born in Japan and I know she is not eligible for Japanese citizenship. n/t

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

7. LOL

"religious"

[provis99]

9. oh, this is a gas

does this mean if the fundies wipe out birthright citizenship, we can strip them of citizenship and deport all of them to the fundamentalist wacko country of our choice?

[Melynn]

11. It took them this long to come up with a stand on illegal immgration?

I guess they really are behind the times.