Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens, according to his top immigration surrogate — a radical step no other major presidential candidate has embraced.
Source: Washington Times
Henry:
My interpretation of this is that Huckabee is either seeking bigot votes, or is a bigot himself. Do you have any alternative explanation.
All of the above.
Yep
This filthy scumbag is the very good friend of Castro and Chávez. Read the news:
Sean Penn Accused of Infidelity
Sean Penn was served with divorce papers by his wife Robin Wright Penn after the actress allegedly found him in bed with two other women. American magazine Star has revealed details of the couple’s last weekend together and claimed the Mystic River star was caught being unfaithful to his partner of 11 years. The actors were reportedly staying at the Squaw Valley resort in Lake Tahoe, California, days before Christmas when the incident is said to have occurred, according to MSNBC.com. A source tells the publication, “Sean didn’t spend much time with his wife – he booked her a separate suite – and when Robin got fed up with being alone, she went over to his suite. (There, she) found him drunk with two Russian girls.” Penn married Wright in 1996 and they have two children together, Dylan Frances, 16, and Hopper Jack, 14. Wright filed divorce papers in California on December 21, citing irreconcilable differences as a reason for the split. The couple are said to be seeking joint custody of their teenage kids. It is the second divorce for Penn – he ended his marriage to pop star Madonna in 1989 after four years.
I am not a Huckabee fan, but I heard in Fox News yesterday that he denied that Washingont Post report of ever intending to amend the constitution to ban children of illegal aliens to become citizens.
You mean to tell me that if two Mexicans or anyone else sneaks into the country “illegally” for the sole purpose of giving birth in the US in order to gain benefits that they should be rewarded with the privilege of US citizenship for the illegal motives?
Bigoted? So lets just open the borders without limits or consideration for National Security or otherwise we are bigots.
Sorry, Im with pototo. all of those illegals aliens kids are then eligible for public education and may and are sent to live with relatives here and legal Americans foot the bill. Why should a pregnent woman be allowed to cross the border, give birth in a US hospital, not pay the bill and then be awarded citizenship for her child? If I am not mistaken, California ended that policy some time ago. It may sounded bigoted but the line has to be drawn SOMEWHERE. If you are here illegally, so are any children born to you while you are in illegal status.
Sorry.
oops, that’s pregnAnt.
oops, that’s pregnAnt.
Corrections to above comments:
It was the Washington Times not the Post, important distinction.
We’re not talking about citizenship for the parents we’re talking about citizenship for the baby and we’re talking about changing the constitution of the United States that grants automatic citizenship for anyone born in this country regardless of the circumstances.
California can not arbitrarily deny citizenship to anyone.
And finally my opinion, it is bigoted.
Isn’t that law true for every country in the world? Any child born in national territory has a right to citizenship in that country where he/she was born?
Can someone correct me if I’m wrong?
The issue is legal admission into the country. So do the ends now justify the means? These people broke the laws of the land in order to gain the benefits of said land. It is not bogoted to defend the land as well as the law.
OOPS bigoted. I am so foreign to bigotry that I can’t even spell it.
I think promises of amendments are campaign B.S. but the concept espoused is not bigotry, it’s common sense. Bigotry would be to turn away a pregnant illegal alien at the hospital when she’s in labour. Common sense is not equating the birth to a publicly funded windfall.
More corrections. “These people” meaning the kids that are being born in the U.S. broke no law. Their parents arguably broke a law though as I pointed out it’s not a criminal law, merely an administrative law. The simple act of being here illegally is not punishable with prison or fines. You simply get deported. But we are talking about the kids. Do you want to punish the son for the sins of the father?
I think it is the bigotry of a Baptist that doesn’t want to see his country overrun by Catholics. Spanish speaking Catholics no less.
And last lastly why a publicly funded windfall? If we did away with all these welfare programs and the education monopoly the only windfall to be had would be that which a person earned in a free country. The problem isn’t the immigrants, it’s the country they are immigrating to. Besides I don’t believe the aspirations of the majority of illegal immigrants is to be live off of the state. That’s merely empty rhetoric used by the nativists. The idea that “those people” could not conceivably make an honest living in America and pay taxes and be producers rather than recipients is certainly bigoted.
Henry,
I am noting bigotry on your part toward the “Baptist” Huckabee.
So is the answer to punish “our kids” for the sins of the fathers of “others”?
These kids who are born here whose parents placed them here by taking advatage of the system will indeed “feed off the state” as they will benefit from education, healthcare, etc. They will also eventually strongly influence the politics of this country with a slant toward illegal immigration.
Let me then pose a legitimate question to you. If the child is legal and the parents illegal do we then deport the parents and leave the child here? No, because now we do not want to split the family. And because of the planned birth in the US by illegals they will all have amnesty. So the child is only a pawn of the illegal parents. Its not about being a US citizen as we saw in the protests last year. Its about economics not freedoms.
I was pretty stunned when Marco Rubio endorsed this guy. Huckabee totally flipped on his Cuba Embargo overnight, and he’s got no gravitas whatsoever when it comes to foreign policy. Then he claimed he didn’t know enough about the specifics of the embargo, even though Tyson Chicken, Arkansas’ largest company, was exporting plenty of poultry to Cuba.
Why Rubio would waste his endorsement on this guy was nothing more than shortsighted political calculation, and all of these Constitutional Amendments he is proposing amount to nothing more than a pipe dream. His candidacy should be rejected out of hand, and if he were the nominee, Republicans can kiss goodbye the White House.
Philomeno might respond to Pototo bv saying in other and more eloquent words something like this:
If the legal circumstances stay the same for a prolonged period of time the only thing that will allow a united country will be the legal status of the children of undocumented aliens. The option suggested promoted (if that is true) by Hucklabee would result in a divided country. We would be like Germany where I am told there a third generation Turks, who are still not German
citizens….
BTW What has Sean Penn got to do with this …
Bahamas, Spain, and many other nations laws state that if you are of another nationality without residence then the child born there is not a citizen.
Citizenship is not something to be given away like candy people. Families are hurting because of the selfish moves of parents to give birth here.
It is always the blame america crowd that states our laws are to blame or some guy who tries to fix them
I am for Thompson pero cono! Lay some blame on the parents for the anchor babies…..who mostly despises the US and what it stands for.
Of course us Cubanos should be exempt 🙂
!Oye tu (Oyea Tau)! Guajiro:
Entonces si no eres Siboney no puedes ser Cubano
Sorry Henry, I think you are wrong on this one. If an illegal gives birth to a child on US soil, then the kid should also be deported along with the mother. The current interpretation of the law gives these illegals the incentive to break our laws by coming illegaly in the first place to give birth to their child on US soil. Like some one else said, US citenship should not be handed out like some free candy. It is worth a hell of a lot more than that.
Of course all those entitlements should be eliminated that draw illegals to our smorgasborg. These federal mandates are unconstitutional anyway. And should the Huckster get elected I do expect a whole shit load of illegals to make the bums’ rush for our borders to have an American born baby before the Amendment takes effect. If you think you have an illegal problem now just wait. More unintended consequences of do gooders.
We are not punishing the son for the sins of the father. We are just sending them back to where they belong. If they have anyone to blame, let them blame the father for putting them in that predicament. Our laws and borders must be respected. The US simply cannot allow our laws to be made into jokes. How the US can allow foreigners to take advantage of it for so long, I just can’t understand.
Larry,
Its filomeno 😉
As for a divided country its here already. The illegals (most, but not all), are not here to be Americans. They are here to profit from America. Their protests last year showed that with their Mexican flags waving. They want Mexico North not to be Americans. The latest out of Calderon’s very mouth is that America is discriminating against the rights of “immigrantes”. He doesn’t even use indocumentados let alone illegals. I have not made my choice regarding my Rebublican candidate so my comments are not Huckabee based. When we have had our “embargo and free travel” debates everyone defended this country and the pride in being part of it. Now it seems when it comes to illegal immigration that America is the bad guy. We can’t have it both ways. Either illegal immigration is illegal or it is not. Giving birth in America doesn’t change the root problem. Their reasoning for coming is Mexico’s problem to fix. And they won’t fix it as long as remittances from the USA slow down. Its amazing how many here are against remittances because they only aggravate the Cuba problem when we defend people who are doing the same and aggravating the immigration issue with Mexico as well.
Bold Statement..It is time to bring back the boys from Iraq and position them along the mexican border
he dicho
the US has the right to protect its borders anyway they see fit
Guys,
Do we know for a fact that this is a true statement? To amend to Constitution is not an easy task, as history has shown. This is unrealistic! I’m not a Huckabee fan for many reasons. I really hope that he does not win the Republican presidential nomination, but if I remember correctly, I heard him state during one of the debates that children of illegal immigrants should no be penalized … since they were not at fault . . . they should not be denied education, health care, etc… so, it’s hard for me to see how he would come out with this radical concept. The entire issue of “anchor” babies does need to be addressed as part of a much needed immigration reform.
We tend to just think of people crossing when we think of “anchor” babies, but I can personally attest to pregnant women from other countries (other than Mexico)who plan and execute traveling to the good old USA (with tourist visas, etc.) close to delivery to have their babies born here and automatically become US citizens. They stay here long enough to have the baby issued a US Passport and then go back home. Clearly these are people with financial means! They see this as an advantage … most countries allow dual citizenship and if needed they can always move to the USA via their American-born children! Not only that, but when it comes to a college education later in life, the child can come to the states and qualify for all the advantages offered to American students … at the same level. There will always be those who would find a way to cheat or take advantage of the present system. Maybe we really need to take a closer look at entitlements in this country …
Respectfully … my 2 cents …
I wish you well 🙂 Melek
“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” ~ FDR
That is the way it should. Illegals don’t have an alliance with the U.S. Niether do the anchors.
Question for everyone, and this is coming from a proud Cuban-American. Why is that Latinos always need to show the country flag on thier car or on thier belongings? Are they really American? What is the point?
Here’s he denying the claim:
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressRelease&ID=484
Why is being proud of where you came from mutually exclusive of being proud of where your are? When the world cup comes around a lot of 3rd and 4th generation italians converge on their local Italian restaurants to root on the team of their ancestor’s country.
Mike Huckabee- Making Mitt Romney look consistent and principled. H/T- The Jawa Report.
Huckabee on birthright citizenship, c. August, 2007:
I think there is reason to revisit that, just because a person, through sheer chance of geography, happened to be physically here at the point of birth, doesn’t necessarily constitute citizenship. I think that’s a very reasonable thing to do, to revisit that.
The Washington Times, as of yesterday (1/7/08):
Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens, according to his top immigration surrogate — a radical step no other major presidential candidate has embraced.
Mr. Huckabee, who won last week’s Republican Iowa caucuses, promised Minuteman Project founder James Gilchrist that he would force a test case to the Supreme Court to challenge birthright citizenship, and would push Congress to pass a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to remove any doubt.
Huckabee again, as of today (1/8/08):
I do not support an amendment to the constitution that would prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens. I have no intention of supporting a constitutional amendment to deny birthright citizenship.
Pototo,
So now it’s bigotry to suggest someone else is a bigot. I don’t follow that logic. But then I guess yes, I’m a bigot when it comes to bigots. I don’t like them.
No Henry,
It was bigoted to paint using the broad brush on Baptists in reference to Catholics. You felt he was a bigot for being a Baptist who hated Catholics. The comment itself is bigoted as you did not say Huckabee does not like Catholics. You said “I think it is the bigotry of a Baptist that doesn’t want to see his country overrun by Catholics. Spanish speaking Catholics no less.”
As a Baptist I take offense by that statement. A Cuban-American Baptist no less.
Lucha,
The first sounded like a quote from Huckabee, the second an editorial from somebody, and the third as a quote. I feel that we should only judge his quotes and not what someone wrote about his position. I actually agree with the first quote though in context of revisiting and illegals.
I said bigotry of “a baptist” referring to Huckabee nobody else. My broad brush painted exactly one person. If you want to take offense on behalf of Huckabee, that’s fine. His rhetoric offends me.
Henry:
I did not mean that California could prevent children born to illegal aliens in the state from becoming citizens. I remember years ago hearing about some steps that California was taking to try to curtail the “baby tourism” industry there. I can’t recall specifics and I can’t find the info. It was years ago when I worked with migrant workers. I’ve been around illegal immigrants since I was 17- that’s 22 years- and not all of their motives are noble, though I will never say they are not among the hardest-working people I have met.
My beef is that they are breaking the law and their children reap the benefits, and in turn, the parents do, too. American citizenship is something I take very seriously, as seriously as I do my Italian heritage. One does not exclude the other. However, since I was born here, and I choose to live here, my allegiance is to the USA.
This is what makes no sense- a child born to an illegal alien is by birthright, a US citizen. However, the children of foreign diplomats are not American citizens if they are born here because of the 14th amendment which reads:
“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.” Subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” eliminates illegal immigrants from its protection. When the 14th amendment was ratified, it was in the late 1800’s to protect the former slaves. Senator Lyman Turnbull (one of the framers of the amendment) declared that “subject to jurisdiction thereof” meant: “Not owing allegiance to anybody else. That is what it means.” So this precludes having parents who are not residents or citizens of the US.
If an American is in Mexico or wherever, and has a baby there, the burden of proof is on that woman to show documentation at the consulate or embassy that she has been a US citizen and has lived in the US for at least 5 years in order for her child to get U.S. citizenship.
Britain, Australia and Ireland have all done away with their birthright citizenship laws.
I’m no fan of Huckabee, especially if he is flip-flopping after taking a stand, but if illegals want citizenship, then they and their child should take a number along with everyone else. Otherwise, their children should have the same status as their parents: illegal. They still get education and services no matter what. Citizenship for children should not be a reward for breaking the law.
I’m not a constitutional lawyer or any kind of lawyer but I think the courts have disagreed with you.
Also what the Amendment seems to say is that anyone that is born in the U.S. (or naturalized) is a citizen and is under the jurisdiction of the USA and the State. The fact that you are under the US and state jurisdiction does not negate your citizenship. It seems pretty state forward.
Henry-
I know you are not a lawyer, nor am I. However, I did ask two history teacher to clarify this for me and after doing so referred me to some websites, including this one:
http://www.14thamendment.us/birthright_citizenship/original_intent.html
And you are right, the court does disagree- not just with me, but with the Framers of the Constitution, on the interpretation of “jurisdiction thereof.” It was written as to protect the US from denying citizenship to blacks, not to give citizenship to the babies of illegal mothers. However, you’d be hard-pressed today to find a court to uphold the original intent of that amendment.
Even Fred Thompson said ““That law was created in another time and place for valid reasons. It probably needs to be revisited.”
Right on, Fred.
I know this will not make Henry happy, but I am in agreement with Fred Thompson on this as well- this Amendment should be revisited. What I find odious about Huckabee is only his flip flopping on Cuba policy and this issue, but on his soft bigotry towards Mormons, and his subtle identity politics. Huckabee is in the process of selling his own soul to become President- perhaps not on social conservative issues, but by saying pretty much saying whatever it takes, making outlandish promises, and by papering over his record. I am astounded that so many people are tripping over themselves in support of such a vapid candidate. Finally, the man would have no prayer in the general election if he were the candidate. Huckabee is thoroughly unelectable for a host of reasons.