14th Ammendment - and its opponents

Invasion by Birth Canal? The fourteenth amendment and its opponents’ motivations
by chaparralrespectsnoborders Monday, Aug. 30, 2010 at 5:00 PM

‘The value we place on individuals determines whether we see them as entitled to perpetuate themselves in their children. Denying someone the right to bear children—or punishing her for exercising that right—deprives her of a basic part of her humanity. When this denial is based on race, it also functions to preserve a racial hierarchy.’ -Dorothy Roberts

Russell Pearce, the Arizona Senator who pushed the “Support Our Law Enforcement” immigration bill (known in Arizona as SB 1070), complains about the automatically-given U.S. citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants. “This is an orchestrated effort by [illegal aliens] to come here and have children to gain access to the great welfare state we’ve created,” he huffed.[1]

Doesn’t Pearce’s comment sound eerily similar to that of this Southern legislator, pre-civil rights movement? “In 1958, Mississippi state representative David H. Glass introduced a bill mandating sterilization for any unmarried mother who gave birth to another illegitimate child. Glass explained that his objective was to reduce the number of Black children on welfare: …‘The negro woman, because of child welfare assistance, [is] making it a business, in some cases of giving birth to illegitimate children.’”[2]
Pearce, probably feeling empowered by SB 1070’s semi-success (or at least its public support), is working on a controversial plan to “push for an Arizona bill that would refuse to accept or issue a birth certificate that recognizes citizenship to those born to illegal aliens, unless one parent is a citizen”[3]. Perhaps also inspired by the anti-immigrant fervor, Senators John Kyl and Lindsey Graham are proposing that the U.S. Senate review the Citizenship Clause of the 14th amendment. The idea of withholding citizenship to children born of undocumented parents goes back to 1991 when Elton Gallegly proposed the idea to the California congress, followed by several other unsuccessful attempts.[4]
Birthright citizenship is said to reward illegality and encourage procreation for the purpose of accessing the privileges the U.S. has to offer, such as welfare. The underlying attitudes follow an ongoing pattern of attacks on the reproductive freedom of women of color. This is all part of an effort to contain, exclude, and criminalize undocumented immigrants--specifically women due to their reproductive potential. Appealing to Americans’ sense of being cheated, the topic of welfare has been used politically with hidden racial motives. People of color and immigrants have been criminalized even though immigrants’ draw on public services is insubstantial. The topic of overpopulation draws on white Americans’ fear of being outnumbered or overpowered and has been used to control women’s fertility, especially restricting the reproductive freedom of women of color in the U.S and internationally. The problems of poverty and environment are said to necessitate the containment of certain populations, while in actuality the major perpetrators of these problems seek to limit the self-determination of targeted populations to continue to profit off them and their resources.
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Republicans Attacking 14th Amendment

Immigration: Socialist Steve Lister Charge Republicans Attacking 14th Amendment

author: Stephen Clarke

Since 2005, Republicans members of Congress have used immigration and border issues as a political football to gain conservative votes during elections. Steve Lister says "congressional Republicans have sunk to lower lows to rob children of their constitutional rights, birth rights and human rights."

Stephen Clarke
SP-California
Staff Writer

Within the past four years, Republicans have been gaining support in Congress to end the automatic citizenship of children born to undocumented immigrant parents; now, these Republican are proposing a constitutional amendment to prevent the children of undocumented immigrants to having the right of U.S. citizenship.

Steve Lister, with the Socialist Party of California says, "The rallying cry of Republicans to amend the Constitution to prevent the right of citizenship to children born here harkens back to the days when former Confederate states stood in opposition to citizenship for freed slaves and Indians." Steve Lister is the San Diego County Local Chair for the Socialist Party.

Since 2005, Republicans members of Congress have used immigration and border issues as a political football to gain conservative votes during elections. Steve Lister says "congressional Republicans have sunk to lower lows to rob children of their constitutional rights, birth rights and human rights."

Following the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. The 14th Amendment was drafted with the intent of granting newly freed slaves full citizenship. The right of citizenship was also questioned in the late 1800s granting citizenship to American Indians. Steve Lister says "Congress has failed to deal with the economy, the war, and the tens of millions that are presently unemployed; instead, to gain votes, Republicans in Congress want to rob children of their constitutional birth right."

The Socialist Party USA has always been a strong defender of the rights of all immigrants to education, health care, and full civil and legal rights; and a call for an unconditional amnesty program for all undocumented people. The Socialist Party USA is also calling for full citizenship rights upon demonstrating residency for six months.

Steve Lister says "It's not the U.S. Constitution and it's not the children; it's capitalism. The central role global capitalism plays is to force the migration of people from the less developed to the more industrialized countries, often leading to further economic exploitation and social injustice. We must end the economic exploitation and demand social justice for the children."