Steve King Moves Forward on Bill to End Birthright Citizenship

Comment: Illegal entry into the United States to work, earn money and then reenter the country of ones birth has become a growing problem in the US. It is estimated that 340,000 babies are born to parents who have entered the country illegally. The proposed bill sponsored by Steve  King would restrict citizenship to children born of a legal resident and children with one parent a U.S. citizen.  This debate should be an interesting one. I just hope it does not distract legislators from other issues such as cutting government spending and regulation on businesses.  Getting our economy on track is our primary focus over the next two years.

Steve King Moves Forward on Bill to End Birthright Citizenship

Posted by Stephanie Condon

Republican Rep. Steve King of Iowa, a leading conservative voice on immigration issues, introduced a bill on Wednesday to end the practice of birthright citizenship.

The bill would amend section 301 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to clarify those classes of individuals born in the United States who are nationals and citizens of the United States at birth.

It’s generally thought that the 14th Amendment provides a constitutional guarantee of citizenship for anyone born in the United States — known as “birthright citizenship” — but King told Hotsheet last year that he does not interpret the 14th Amendment that way.

Concerns about illegal immigration last year spurred some Republicans to call for a debate over birthright citizenship, and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said last year he was considering proposing a constitutional amendment so that children born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants would not automatically be citizens.

King is a senior Republican on the immigration subcommittee in the House Judiciary Committee. However, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, told Politico last year that issues like birthright citizenship will “not [be] our initial focus” in the committee.

“The focus is on creating jobs and protecting jobs,” Smith said, adding that he would first take up issues like expanding E-Verify, a voluntary electronic system for checking the immigration status of workers that’s supported by President Obama.

So far, King’s bill has three co-sponsors listed: Reps. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.), Gary Miller (R-Calif.) and Rob Woodall (R-Ga.).

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