In Congress, a harder line on illegal immigrants

[cityimrov]

Cityimrov I agree strong tariffs thrust upon us too quickly would be too inflationary but slowly raising them would create jobs here and raise wages.  
BT I agree with comprehensive reform.  

We have to consider the "war on drugs" as part of the profit center that provides much of the money needed to skirt our border security (tunnels, smugglers ect..).

Here's the problem, this issue is being thrusted upon too quickly.  The federal government is willing to wait, discuss, and take the time to think about this complex issue through.  

The states, no.  They want something fast, quick, easy, and painless - NOW!  They want a simple solution for a solution that doesn't exist without creating a whole bunch of unintended consequences.  

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-28/more-states-seeking-to-follow-arizona-s-push-for-tougher-immigration-rules.html

Most states are going for the hard line, frontal attack "War on Drugs" style plan.  

In our specific case, our immigration destiny will be determined by our Governor (Rick Scott) as well as our Legislature (Florida Republicans).  Who would you trust to make a better decision on immigration, our state government or our federal government?  

Also, if your depending on the courts to decide this, by the time that happens, the proposals implemented by our state government will have been in place for years with whatever pros and cons it produces.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

14 States May Target Birthright Citizenship
By Liz Goodwin
Mon Jan 3, 3:11 pm ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110103/us_yblog_thelookout/14-states-may-target-birthright-citizenship

Arizona state politicians will introduce model legislation this week to encourage states to prevent children of illegal immigrants from being granted citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

Lawmakers in at least 14 states have said they are committed to passing the legislation targeting birthright citizenship. Arizona's anti-illegal-immigrant bill, SB-1070, was also based on model legislation that could be easily copied by states, and at least seven states are likely to pass bills similar to the first Arizona immigration overhaul this year, according to one analysis by an immigrants rights group.

Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce will unveil the bill Jan. 5 in Washington, D.C., the Arizona Capital Times reports. The paper says lawmakers in Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah have said they want to introduce similar legislation this year.

Pearce argues that the "original intent" of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to freed U.S. slaves, and that it was never meant to apply to the children of foreigners. A Phoenix New Times writer, however, argues that lawmakers who originally passed the amendment took into account the cases of children of Chinese immigrants in California as well as children of gypsies when drafting the measure. A 19th-century Supreme Court precedent also backs that interpretation, though no Supreme Court case has yet dealt with the issue of offspring of illegal immigrant parents.

The amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

Ali Noorani of the immigrant-rights group the National Immigration Forum told The Lookout that he believes leaders in more states will try to counter the thrust of the birthright initiative by adopting resolutions that eschew state laws cracking down on illegal immigration. Religious and political leaders in Utah recently signed a compact advocating for a "humane" approach to immigration, which other states could copy.

I am in favor of this and after researching the 14th a little more after posting the first article, I came to the same conclusion - it was written for freed slaves and Native Americans who wanted citizenship. 

If passed, it prevents the catch-22 of deporting the parents and leaving their 'naturalized' kids in state care, but allows the families to stay together. 

Next step would be to shut down the border.  And yes, I think we need to be taking a hard line on this.

[ChriswUfGator]

The problem is that intent and committee notes etc. tend to come into play when the language is vague, which in this case it's not. You're likely going to need a federal constitutional amendment to change the plain face reading of "All persons born..."

I agree on shutting the border down, this is all a moot point if they can't get here illegally to give birth in the first place. Why this is still such a problem despite all the current technology we have is mind boggling.