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Changing 14th Amendment 'worth considering,' Boehner says
(CNN) -- Changing the Constitution's guarantee of U.S. citizenship for anyone born in the United States is "worth considering" if it helps reduce illegal immigration, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives said Sunday.But it won't be considered. It'll be dismissed by the lefties as "racist" and the Pubs won't stand their ground because they're actually nudibranches. "It's a serious problem that affects our country, and in certain parts of our country clearly our schools, our hospitals are being overrun by undocumented Democrats. A lot of them came here just so their children could become U.S. citizens. They should do it the legal way," House Minority Leader John It is not pronounced 'Boner!'Boehner told NBC's "Meet the Press." I sometimes sympathize with them, since the "legal way" involves having to jump through hoops and stand on your hands and spit quarters. The Ohio congressman, who could become speaker of the House if Republicans win back control of the chamber in November, ... even though they wouldn't be obligated to keep him... is the latest GOP leader to float the idea of changing the 14th Amendment. Several leading GOP senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 2008 presidential nominee John MaverickMcCain ... the former foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution... have said they would support holding hearings into the matter as part of the heated debate over immigration. The Reconstruction-era amendment guarantees equal protection of law and defines who is a U.S. citizen. The exclusion of the children of illegals, of foreign consuls, and similar groups is also spelled out in case law up until Justice Brennan inserted a footnote into a majority opinion in the 1950s... Critics of illegal immigration have long accused migrants -- particularly those coming from Mexico or Latin American countries -- of giving birth to children in the United States in hopes that their babies' citizenship will keep them in the country. The amendment has been cited as the foundation of U.S. civil rights law in cases ranging from Brown v. Board of Education to last week's decision that struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in California. Changing it would require a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and the approval of three-quarters of state legislatures. Boehner said Sunday he's "not the expert on this issue," but "I think it's worth considering." You could take a weekend and read up on it. It does make for interesting reading. You probably have a subscription to West... "There is a problem," he told NBC. "To provide an incentive for undocumented Democrats to come here so that their children can be U.S. citizens does, in fact, draw more people to our country." Posted by: Fred 2010-08-09 |
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