Speech #1140013744

We are here to protect the Constitution. and the 14th Amendment is sacrosanct and too important to be defined by the political and discriminatory impulses of any Member of Congress. But beyond trying to change our Constitution with a piece of legislation. my friend from Louisianas amendment to a human trafficking bill could make human trafficking worse. Eliminating birthright citizenship would create a perpetual class of undocumented immigrants. ironically growing the undocumented population by ensuring that undocumented children. and their children born here. would become undocumented. and their children and their childrens children could never come out of the shadows and be equal under the law. This new permanent underclass would inevitably lead to some without any citizenship in any country. in other words. they would be stateless. This new underclass would be subject to the worst forms of exploitation. including. for some. becoming victims of human trafficking themselves.