Yesterday Ed Morrissey at Hot Air which cited a Pew Research Center claim that 8% of all American babies are born to illegal aliens.
According to the article:
"Undocumented immigrants make up slightly more than 4% of the U.S. adult population. However, their babies represented twice that share, or 8%, of all births on U.S. soil in 2008, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center's report."
The lure of having your child declared an American citizen because they were born in America is powerful. However, when you closely examine what the 14th Amendment actually says, the assumption that the children of illegal immigrants are automatically granted citizenship may not be correct.
Mr. Morrissey concludes:
"The 14th Amendment makes one condition in its language: "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." So far as I know, that has led courts to consider children born of legal immigrants citizens of the US, since they submitted themselves to the jurisdiction of America and its laws. A case can be made that the clause could restrict birthright citizenship to only those legally in the country -- and it would certainly be easier to float a test case with a deportation order than it would be to amend the Constitution. Why not let the courts have a crack at it first?"
I would feel more comfortable with that idea if I trusted the courts, but actually, the courts have a better chance of dealing with this problem than an attempt at amending the Constitution.
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