Birthright Citizenship Challenge not Popular to All Anti-Immigrant Groups

Sandhya Somashekhar writes for the Washington Post:

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R) says America faces a new and growing foreign threat: illegal immigrants and tourists who come to here for the express purpose of giving birth so their children obtain citizenship.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other top Republicans quickly jumped on the issue and called for hearings.

The senators said their concerns arose from recent reports of a burgeoning “birth tourism” industry, which helps expectant mothers abroad travel to the United States to deliver their babies. They also said that birthright citizenship, which is granted by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, could provide an incentive for people to enter the country illegally.

The sudden support cheered anti-immigration hard-liners who have been pushing to do away with birthright citizenship for years, but the senators face a problem: Few others want to take up the issue, and it is almost assuredly going nowhere.

Even some of the most vocal critics of the country’s permissive immigration laws are skeptical of the efforts, which they say are particularly emotionally charged because they affect children and families. Click here for the full story.

bh