Speech #1030010204

They argue that its guarantee of citizenship to those born "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States should be read to embody the public laws conception of consensual r..embership. and therefore to refer only to children of those legally admitted to permanent residence in the American community. that is. citizens and legal resident aliens. Whatever historic. political. and social reasons led to the inclusion of birthright citizenship in the 14th amendment. the Framers were clearly motivated by a desire to eradicate the legacy of the Dred Scott decision. In the mid19th century. no one could have anticipated the rise of the modern welfare state or a massive increase in illegal immigration. At that time. Immigration to this country was virtually unregulated and unrestricted. Labor was in short supply. and farmers. laborers. tradesmen. and mechanics were universally welcomed to an expanding nation. Americans celebrated an opendoor policy as a way to make this country a place of refuge for what George Washington called the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions. This liberal policy changed dramatically with the tide of immigration. leading over the years to various exclusion acts. national origin quotas and other legal restrictions. culminating in the more evenhanded Immigration and Nationality Act of 1986. Concerns have shifted in recent years from encouragement of immigration to control of our borders. America takes pride in the fact that it is. and has always been. a nation in which immigrants have found asylum and opportunity and. by virtue of their hard work. and by means of their lawful efforts to obtain citizenship status. have come to enjoy the same rights. privileges. and Immunities as nativeborn citizens. In my native California. our way of life has been enhanced and deeply enriched by the settlement of Latinos. Asians. and other persons of foreign origins within our borders. The enactment of major immigration reforms during the 1980s and 1990s attests to our continuing strong commitment to the meltingpot credo. and our belief that newcomers legally entering our shores will benefit Americas economy and its social and cultural heritage. We must recognize. however. that the United States is also a nation of finite resources and opportunities which must be available to. and shared. by all its citizens. Today. in many parts of this country. especially in California. our cities and towns are being overrun with immigrants. both legal and undocumented. who pose major economic and law enforcement problems for local governments. and place an added burden on their already strained budgets. Despite improvements in the immigration law. and steppedup efforts to police the border and arrest undocumented aliens. the problem of Illegal aliens is a serious matter throughout southern California and the border States. as well as in many other areas of this country. After several years of decline. largely as a consequence of the ban on hiring Illegals. and stiff sanctions on employers who flout the law. the number of arrests of illegal aliens is rising to the pre1986 level of 1.8 million a year. There may be as many as 3 million aliens currently residing in southern California alone. I need not recite the economic. social. and political problems that this crisis of illegal immigration poses to Federal. State. and local governments. to communities and neighborhoods. and to families. small businesses. law enforcement. medical facilities. health providers. schools. social welfare agencies. transportation systems. and to other legal immigrants seeking jobs and assistance. Suffice it to say. U.S. taxpayers are shelling out billions of dollars annually In various direct benefits for illegal aliens nationwidethe Center for Immigration Studies estimated the cost in 1990 to be at least $5.4 billionbenefits which are then unavailable to poor and needy families of American citizens and legal aliens. In Los Angeles County alone. officials estimate the net cost of providing health. education. and welfare benefits to illegal aliens and their children rose by almost $70 million during the past 2 years to $276.2 milliona whopping 34percent increase. County officials warn that the cost of the Aid to Families With Dependent Children [AFDC] Program could reach $1 billion by the end of the decade. This is not surprising in light of the fact that nearly twothirds of all children born in countyoperated hospitals during fiscal year 199091. were the offspring of illegal immigrant parents. Clearly. the present guarantee under our laws of automatic birthright citizenship to the children of illegal aliens is one more causal factor contributing to the crisis of illegal immigration. When this enticement is combined with the attraction of expanded entitlements conferred upon citizen children and their families by the welfare state. the total effect of birthright citizenship laws is significant and clearly harmful. It is time for Congress to act to remove such powerful incentives. The question of the citizenship status of nativeborn children of illegal aliens was never really considered by the Framers of the 14th amendment. todays situation simply did not exist at that time. Nor has this question been presented squarely to the Supreme Court for final determination. In the single case in which the Supreme Court examined the issue of alien citizenship. United States v. Wong Kim Ark. 169 U.S. 649 (1898). the majority concluded that the citizenship clause did extend birthright citizenship to an Americanborn son of Chinese subjects. but significantly. the parents were also permanent residents of California. It is difficult to defend a practice that automatically extends birthright citizenship to the nativeborn offspring of illegal aliens. The parents of such children are. by definition. individuals whose presence within the jurisdiction of the United States is prohibited by law. If our society has refused explicitly to consent to their membership. it certainly cannot be said to have consented to that of their offspring merely because they happen to be born in this country at the same time that their parents are here in violation of the law. Regardless of the humanitarian appeal and the innocent status of these children of illegal aliens. the legitimate needs and demands of this countrys citizens and legal resident aliens must take precedence. There are a myriad of problems created by current law. For Instance. illegal aliens with citizen children are less likely to be deported than if their offspring are regarded as aliens. llegal alien parents are subject to deportation despite the legal status of their children. In fact. however. many parents succeed in having their children here while being forced to return to their native land or. In the alternative. departing as a family and depriving the children of their American birthright. poses an extreme hardship. In addition. illegal alien parents are often able to bootstrap their offsprings citizen status Into legal residence. and later. naturalized status for themselves. Once the child reaches majority he or she may file a petition for legal permanent resident status for the parents. Moreover. the parents can usually obtain welfare and other public benefits for their citizen children. if not directly for themselves.