Arizona Targets Birthright Citizenship
Reuters reports:
(Reuters) - Arizona Republicans introduced legislation on Thursday seeking to challenge the right to U.S. citizenship for children born in the state whose parents are illegal immigrants or other non-citizens.
The move by state legislators came the same day the sheriff for Phoenix and surrounding areas sent a force of 200 deputies and citizen volunteers on an immigration sweep, an action the controversial lawman has undertaken periodically since 2008.
Republicans introduced bills in the Arizona legislature that aim to provoke a legal review of the 14th amendment to the Constitution, which anchors citizenship rights for the children of immigrants.
The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof."
It was adopted in 1868 after the U.S. Civil War to ensure citizenship for former African-American slaves.
The aim is "to trigger ... a Supreme Court review of the phrase 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof' in the 14th amendment," said Rep. John Kavanagh, one on the backers of the legislation.
