Think being born here makes you an American? Leo Berman says no.

[RB TexLa]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/010708dntswagenda.36c16fb.html
Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, has filed a bill that would challenge birthright citizenship – the idea that children born to illegal immigrants on U.S. soil are automatically U.S. citizens.

http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HB28

Awww, he's going to get Lou Dobbs all misty eyed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Does the idiot realize that goes against 226 yaers of

Constituional Law and over 500 yaers of RECOGNIZED International Law?

Oh never mind...

[Nikki Stone1]

4. It actually only goes back to the 14th amendment after the civil war

It was to guarantee citizenship rights to former slaves and their descendents.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Yes it was finally cofified

but if you read the Federaiist you will quickly realize that they were quite implied

[Nikki Stone1]

15. You mean "codified"? And what is the "Federaiist"

?

[Puregonzo1188]

2. Well doesn't the Constitution say something different?

I believe its in the 14th Ammendment.

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Yep

but hey, who cares? these folks will do anything to keep people distracted by creating the enemy

[Puregonzo1188]

6. Well its "just a goddamned piece of paper" anyways. (n/t)

[NNguyenMD]

5. yes, and last I recall 1-2 million union soldiers gave their lives

before it was ratified by congress.

[NoGOPZone]

9. Yeah, but it's just a piece of paper

according to a prominent Republican

edited to singular

[hobbit709]

7. What does that make me?

I am an "American by birth" as opposed to "native-born American" I was born in Austria to an Austrian mother and American father. He filed the paperwork at the embassy in Vienna and I have a piece of paper from the State Department that says I'm an American citizen from day 1.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Brown babies are a threat to 'Murka!! The new bogeyman is a toddler.

“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.” H.L. Mencken

[WillyT]

10. So... Are Republicans Now Pro Illegal Alien Abortion ???

And would that be forced, or coerced???

:wtf:

[EFerrari]

11. I misread this as "Think being born again makes you an American?

Edit: I don't mean to insult DUers of any religious persuasion. It's more that the Thuggery has tried to hijack religion and even my brain expects to read a headline like that because that's how they work every day.

[melody]

12. Well, since those of us descended from the earliest settlers are technically illegal

I guess a big portion of the US will shortly be repatriated to Europe.

[treestar]

13. The short sightedness of this is stunning

Reality bites, but Leo might want to consider it.

It is not worth it, illegal immigrants do not cause such a problem that in order to combat them we need to have a permanent class of noncitizens with no rights living among us. People with nothing to lose, who can't be deported anywhere (they could end up stateless, or the other countries could refuse to take them back).

Yeah, let government burueacrats and police get used to people they don't have to treat as having rights under the Bill of Rights. Then when they get used to that kind of power, let's have them apply that mindset to citizens.

Then we'll have to prove we're citizens to prove we have any rights.

Actually technically that is already the case with the bill abolishing habeas corpus.

The immigration issue is to some extent international, in spite of right wing hysteria, we really don't have to go out of our way to offend other countries.

[avb7]

16. I'm confused....

How can two non-citizens give birth to a citizen? I think it's crazy. For example: My grandson was born in China (Hong Kong) to US citizen father and British citizen mother. He is either American or British, not Chinese. He has no claim to a Chinese(Hong Kong) passport now or in the future.Are we the only country that grants citizenship by geography? What if a married couple from Italy were in the US on vacation and the mother delivered the baby pre-maturely on US soil, why in the world would the child have any claim to US citizenship? It just does not make any sense to me, am I missing something?

[DavidDvorkin]

17. Those of us who are naturalized citizens

Aren't really and truly and fully American.

That's according to the Constitution, which won't allow us to be president or vice president of the U.S. Many on DU agree with that -- vigorously, vocally, and in some cases xenophobically.

This is really just more of the same attitude.