HR698: What is it?

Dr. Jack Wheeler writes, "The myth of Birthright Citizenship is one of the more extraordinary frauds committed in America today. Liberals insist that the "Citizenship Clause" of the 14^th Amendment - which 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" - means that children of illegal aliens born on US soil automatically are US citizens.

The 14^th Amendment means no such thing. When it was ratified in 1868 to protect the rights of native-born Black Americans, whose rights were being denied as recently-freed slaves, the Citizenship Clause's author, Senator Jacob Howard, made it explicitly clear that the clause did not apply to "persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the Government of the United States."

The key phrase of the clause is "subject to the jurisdiction thereof." The primary author of the entire 14^th Amendment, Senator John Bingham, stated, "I find no fault with the introductory (Citizenship) Clause, which is simply declaratory of what is written in the Constitution, that every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural born citizen."

This meaning was affirmed by the Supreme Court in Elk v. Wilkins (1884), which determined that the phrase "subject to its jurisdiction" explicitly excluded "citizens of foreign states born within the United States."

In other words, an illegal alien mother is subject to the jurisdiction of her native country, as is her baby. Illegal aliens from Mexico do not owe allegiance to America. Their children, if born in the US, thus have no constitutional right to US citizenship."

He further informs us that, "To help stop this invasion, to stop this misinterpretation of the Constitution, Congressman Nathan Deal (R-GA), along with 84 co-sponsors, has introduced HR 698 into Congress: The Citizenship Reform Act. Its purpose is to "deny automatic citizenship at birth to children born in the United States to parents who are not citizens or permanent resident aliens."

The 85 Congressional sponsors of the Citizenship Reform Act, after thorough legal consultation, are convinced [the problem] can be solved legislatively, and does not require a constitutional amendment."

My gut feel is that this won't have enough support to make it all the way to Pres. G. W. Bush. Too many Democrats (most Democrats, I would hazard to guess) will oppose it because that would mean less welfare dependents, less government, and fewer voters. And as far as the Republicans go, well, just too many spineless ones to vote on the hard issues.