An amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was put in place to make newly freed slaves instant citizens of the United States has been abused over the years in the case of children of illegal aliens. Have a child in the U.S., regardless if you are a citizen or not, and your child is automatically an American citizen. On the surface, it makes no sense, and two senators are proposing a resolution to eliminate the “anchor” baby practice once and for all.

As reported by The Hill, Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and David Vitter (R-LA) are “introducing a resolution this week that would amend the Constitution so that a person born in the United States could only become an American citizen if one or more of his or her parents is a legal citizen, legal immigrant or member of the armed forces.” In a joint press release, Sen. Paul noted, “Citizenship is a privilege, and only those who respect our immigration laws should be allowed to enjoy its benefits.”

For too long, our nation has seen an influx of illegal aliens entering our country at an escalating rate, and chain migration is a major contributor to this rapid increase – which is only compounded when the children of illegal aliens born in the U.S. are granted automatic citizenship,” said Sen. Vitter. “Closing this loophole will not prevent them from becoming citizens, but will ensure that they have to go through the same process as anyone else who wants to become an American citizen.”

According to the press release, Vitter and Paul “do not believe that the 14th Amendment confers birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens, either by its language or intent.” The resolution is not a constitutional amendment. Rather, it seeks to make clear that “under the 14th Amendment a person born in the United States to illegal aliens does not automatically gain citizenship.”

The effort to clarify birthright citizenship and end the practice of illegal aliens having “anchor” babies is not limited to Washington. According to an AP Story on GOPUSA, Arizona lawmakers “are proposing a bill that challenges automatic U.S. citizenship for children of illegal immigrants.”

Republican Rep. John Kavanagh, who filed the Arizona plan Thursday, said the goal isn’t to get every state in the nation to enact such a law, but rather to bring the dispute to the courts in hopes of reducing the costs associated with granting automatic citizenship.

“The result of that is they immediately acquire the right to full benefits, everything from welfare to cheese, which increases the costs to the states,” Kavanagh said. “And beyond that, it’s irresponsible and foolish to bestow citizenship based upon one’s GPS location at birth.”

The law is sure to be challenged in the courts, but something needs to be done. The new reports note that opponents call the effort “mean spirited.” What does that even mean? We are only supposed to pass laws that offer more government give-aways and make people feel good? What about passing laws that make sense? Or even better, how about enforcing the laws we already have.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that if a law is being perverted to the extent that two people in this country illegally can have a child who then gains all the benefits of being an American citizen such as welfare and health care, then something is wrong with that law.

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