U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) today drew attention to Senator Harry Reid's (D-Nev.) previous vocal support for legislation (video below) to end birthright citizenship - which makes children of illegal aliens citizens if they're born on U.S. soil. While Reid has called the current ammendment to end birthright citizenship stupid, he's spoken out in favor of it in the past.
Vitter’s legislation, the Birthright Citizenship Act, would clarify that birthright citizenship is only given to the children of U.S. citizens and legal resident aliens. Vitter wants to find a way to decrease the practice known as birthright tourism. Here is his floor speech.
Vitter says the practice of birthright tourism happens because of a fundamental misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment, "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof."
Vitter's legislation would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent children born in the U.S. of foreign national parents from gaining automatic U.S. citizenship unless one of the parents is: (1) a U.S. citizen or national, (2) a lawful permanent resident, or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces, reports CNSNews.com.
In a press release, Vitter called attention to a video of Harry Reid denouncing birthright citizenship.
In 1993, Sen. Reid declared "no sane country" would reward illegal aliens in this way when he introduced a bill to close the birthright citizenship loophole which was even more extreme than Vitter’s amendment:
"If making it easy to be an illegal alien isn’t enough, how about offering a reward for being an illegal immigrant? No sane country would do that, right?
"Guess again. If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child, we reward that child with U.S. citizenship and guarantee a full access to all public and social services this society provides – and that’s a lot of services."
Defense attorny Daniel Horowitz analyzed the shift in attitude:
"Reid’s dramatic evolution on unconditional birthright citizenship illustrates just how extreme the Democratic Party has become. Before radical special interests and the desire for a permanent voting bloc took over the party, many Democrats believed in the bedrock principles of sovereignty, rule of law, and ordered immigration.
"That Democrats have abandoned any morsel of common sense on immigration is a sad testament of Barack Obama’s fringe Democrat Party."