Republican Senators Challenge Birthright Citizenship
Republican Senators Tom Cotton from Arkansas and Rand Paul from Kentucky have criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that supports birthright citizenship. Both senators are advocating for a constitutional amendment to eliminate this practice.
However, passing such an amendment would need a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress, which might be tough to achieve. Most Democrats, along with several business-oriented Republicans, tend to favor immigration policies that allow more people into the country.
Senator Cotton emphasized that “Natural citizenship was never intended to benefit illegal immigrants,” and he has urged Congress to establish a “constitutional citizenship law” to ensure that only children of individuals here legally can obtain citizenship.
According to Cotton’s proposal, children of illegal immigrants, terrorists, and foreign spies would not qualify for birthright citizenship. He argues that there is no constitutional entitlement for illegal immigrants to cross the border to confer citizenship on their offspring, claiming that granting birthright citizenship contributes to the record high levels of illegal immigration.
A petition co-sponsored by Republicans Kevin Cramer, Bill Hagerty, and Bernie Moreno aims to clarify in the Immigration and Nationality Act that children born in the U.S. are not eligible for birthright citizenship if their parents are illegal immigrants or are in the country for diplomatic reasons or hostile actions.
Senator Paul is also pursuing his own resolution to deem birthright citizenship illegal. He introduced a joint resolution aiming to amend the U.S. Constitution to protect citizenship rights and abolish automatic birthright citizenship.
Paul pointed out that under the current interpretation of the law, anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen, irrespective of the legal status of their parents, which he believes was not the intention of the 14th Amendment’s drafters.
Birthright citizenship was established in the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868 following the Civil War, and was meant to automatically grant citizenship to children of former slaves. However, interpretations suggest it applies to anyone born in the U.S.
Paul noted the importance of legal immigrants and highlighted concerns about borders being too open, indicating that previous administrations had made strides in addressing illegal immigration.
He reiterated that citizenship should be reserved for children of legal U.S. citizens, referencing his long-standing support for limiting birthright citizenship since his early Senate days.
