EPCC NEWS

January 03, 2011

NEW RACIST OFFENSIVE: 14 states may target birthright citizenship

Los Angeles- In an apparent racist offensive fanned by GOP gains in the US Congress, the EPCC NEWS reported today that some states like Arizona will introduce model legislation this week to encourage states to prevent children of illegal immigrants from being granted citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

The EPCC NEWS reported that some legislators t least 14 states have said they are committed to passing the legislation targeting birthright citizenship.

It was Arizona state that passed an anti-immigrant bill SN 1070 in 2010. Arizona's anti-illegal immigrant bill SB-1070 was based on model legislation that could be easily copied by states, and at least seven states are likely to pass bills similar to the first Arizona immigration overhaul this year.

Arizona leading the racist attacks

The EPCC also reported that "Arizona state senator Russell Pearce will unveil the bill Jan. 5 in Washington D.C., The Arizona Capital Times reports. The paper says lawmakers in Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Utah have said they want to introduce similar legislation this year.

Pearce argues that the "original intent" of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to freed U.S. slaves, and that it was never meant to apply to the children of foreigners.

A Phoenix New-Times writer, however, argues that lawmakers who originally passed the amendment took into account the cases of children of Chinese immigrants in California as well as children of gypsies when drafting the measure. A 19th-century Supreme Court precedent also backs that interpretation.

The Amendment 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."

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