"Jon Kyl Backs Republican 14th-Amendment Repeal Effort To Deny Citizenship To Immigrants' Children", Huffington Post, 2010-08-02.
Before anybody repeals the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, they should read it carefully in its entirety.
Those who are upset about "illegal" immigrants are upset about the part of the 14th Amendment that 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."
Those who want to repeal this Amendment should also consider that it states, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive a person of life, liberty, and property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Does this mean if the 14th Amendment is repealed that the citizens of a state that did not ratify the repeal then have the right to deprive repeal supporters of life, liberty, and property without even a hearing?
Supporters of repeal should also be careful that nobody slips into their amendment a repeal of the statement in Article I, Section 7, that "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed." "Ex post facto" means "after the fact"; that is, if somebody does something Congress doesn't like but is not illegal, then Congress cannot pass a law that makes that past action illegal and punishable now.
If the "ex post facto" provision were removed, then somebody might slip in a rider on some bill that to be a citizen a person had to prove that all of their ancestors were legal immigrants, right back to the Mayflower. Gosh! Was there even agreement among the pre-Mayflower residents as to who was a legal immigrant and who was most unwelcome?
You think that's impossible. Would all Senators and Representatives who read every word of every bill please raise their hands? Hm? Would somebody check the cloak room to see if any have raised their hands?
An important afterthought: has anybody considered that the 14th Amendment was proposed by a Republican Congress?
