This is pretty huge:
House Republicans are looking closely at ending birthright citizenship and building a barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border as they search for solutions to illegal immigration.
“There is a general agreement about the fact that citizenship in this country should not be bestowed on people who are the children of folks who come into this country illegally,” said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, who is participating in the “unity dinners,” the group of Republicans trying to find consensus on immigration.
Amen to that! However, they’re going to try and change this by statute. Seems to me that the 14th amendment is pretty clear:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States
But we’re still — unfortunately — in the very early stages of this debate, so we’ll see how it pans out. Meanwhile, Republicans are also kicking around the idea of a border fence or other barrier:
At this week’s “unity dinner,” House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican, said he supports a barrier system of fences in some places and electronic surveillance or vehicle barriers in others, one participant said.Mr. Hastert’s spokesman said the speaker would not talk about the private meetings.
Come on, Mr. Speaker! This is the kind of bold initiative that Republican voters want! They don’t want to see wishy-washy “we’ll look into it” proposals. They want decisive action! At least put a mention about the idea on your little blog!
