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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / We’re All Not Worthy

We’re All Not Worthy

by $8 blue check mistermix|  August 5, 20107:59 am| 85 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Teabagger Stupidity

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Juicers, I have a confession: I’m one generation away from anchor babies. Both of my parents were, to use Lindsey Graham’s phrase, “dropped” here by their immigrant parents. If not for the 14th amendment, I’d be blogging from an undisclosed location, hiding from La Migra.

The press is already making a big deal about anchor baby Bobby Jindahl. Compared to him, I came over on the Mayflower, because his parents’ feet had barely touched our precious soil before his mom dropped him six months later. Of course, according to Jindahl’s spokesman, he’s not an anchor baby:

“By the way, the Governor’s mother was here as a permanent resident not on a student visa, which makes the question not just ridiculous but irrelevant,” he said.

Ridiculous my ass. Even birfers don’t dispute that Obama’s mother was a US citizen, so Jindahl has months if not years of explaining to do. Font checks of the original copies of that purported visa are just a start. And let’s not forget Alberto Gonzales.

But why stop at the anchor? TPaw, for example, is a generation or two from anchor babies, just like most residents of that part of the world. This really does call for a Congressional investigation.

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Reader Interactions

85Comments

  1. 1.

    BudP

    August 5, 2010 at 8:05 am

    Also, I think Todd is some kind of Eskimo, which pretty much means its illegal for him to be first lady.

  2. 2.

    spudvol

    August 5, 2010 at 8:09 am

    Weren’t Michelle Malkin parents here illegally (on an expired visa) when she was born?

  3. 3.

    EconWatcher

    August 5, 2010 at 8:10 am

    I guess my grandfather was the ultimate anchor baby. He was conceived in Ireland and then born here shortly after his parents arrived, penniless and hungry.

  4. 4.

    JCT

    August 5, 2010 at 8:14 am

    Actually, these are exactly the types of questions I have been waiting for- along with the rest of their minds, these idgits who want to “fix” the 14th have conveniently forgotten how many of their ancestors arrived. I wouldn’t mind hearing some folks own up on this from both sides. Should be interesting and remind people that this is nation of immigrants.

  5. 5.

    LindaH

    August 5, 2010 at 8:16 am

    I too have this stain on my heritage. My maternal Grandmother and great-Grandmother came over here, scheming to get citizenship by working hard and having my mother who could then solidify the family’s citizenship by having her marry a “real” American. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Yes, my grandmother dropped out of school and cleaned houses to make ends meet. Yes she married another immigrant who had the audacity to open his own business and buy a house that provided rental income. His son got a job in an automobile factory (anchor baby takes jobs from good Americans). But my Mom scored the real win. She cunningly lived at home and worked her way through college, only putting enough effort in to graduate magna cum laude. She also met an married my father. He had an ancestor who led a retreat during the American Revolution (you can’t win them all). My paternal grandmother never let us forget how her son married one of those people. I mean they were from Hungary and spoke German and Hungarian and highly accented English while good Americans spoke only English.

    Fortunately my maternal grandparents had the good sense to be white, and yes, they did come over through Ellis Island, and took the citizenship courses and became citizens but still I’m sure someone finds it sneaky that my grandmother came to Amurica and dropped two kids. How dare she want a better life and then work hard for it. The nerve!

  6. 6.

    Comrade Javamanphil

    August 5, 2010 at 8:17 am

    Perhaps we need to just give it all back to the various tribes that ran the place before we got here. Would have the added benefit of re-whitening Europe which is a major concern to the right (or so my wingnut parents tell me.) “It’s just patriotism hiding bigotry”

  7. 7.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 8:20 am

    @spudvol: Malkin is Philippino, right? Having grown up as a Navy brat, and even though the Philippines long ago gained independence, I would have to say that Philippinos are almost as American as Puerto Ricans, i.e., they are so close to us they may as well all be given US passports regardless of where they were born.

    Now, I was adopted and know nothing of my biological parents. Perhaps I am an anchor baby? My son was born overseas but was born a US citizen, can he not be president? And, you will catch hell if you want to argue with me that my son is somehow less American than your own kids.

    My mother’s father migrated to Canada from Eastern Europe in 1900 and then sneaked across the border to North Dakota a few years later with family. How far back do you want to go to ensure that offspring are punished for the illegal entry of their forebears?

  8. 8.

    spudvol

    August 5, 2010 at 8:20 am

    “New Colossus

    Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
    With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
    Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
    A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
    Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
    Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
    Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
    The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
    “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
    With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
    Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
    The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
    Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
    I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

    2010 addendum- “NOT!!11!!”

  9. 9.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 8:25 am

    Somebody needs to check the legality of St. Ronnie’s grandparents, as well.

  10. 10.

    Glenn Beck's Chalkboard

    August 5, 2010 at 8:33 am

    Where is Nikki Haley on this?

  11. 11.

    NonyNony

    August 5, 2010 at 8:42 am

    the Governor’s mother was here as a permanent resident

    Note those words “permanent resident”.

    A permanent resident is not yet a citizen – permanent residents are those folks who need to hold a “Green Card”. Which would mean that without birthright citizenship little Bobby Jindahl might himself have been considered a “permanent resident” and needing to be naturalized into citizenship.

    Which would be pretty fucking stupid, says this descendant of Irish immigrants.

  12. 12.

    Frank

    August 5, 2010 at 8:43 am

    @JCT:

    Actually, these are exactly the types of questions I have been waiting for- along with the rest of their minds, these idgits who want to “fix” the 14th have conveniently forgotten how many of their ancestors arrived.

    Since the Native Americans were here before any of the White Men, perhaps we just should take it to the full extent and kick everybody out, except for the Native Americans.

  13. 13.

    SteveinSC

    August 5, 2010 at 8:43 am

    Well you know that 14th Amendment came in after the ‘Wah Against No-then Agresion’ and if we (dog whistle) remember about that slavery thing, (wink, wink, Know what I mean? Know what I mean?) We could, say rewrite this 14th thing, (wink wink) and kind of get the nigras illegals back to whence they came, We’ve got to do something about securing our borders and keeping illegals (dog whistle) from just breeding us to death.

  14. 14.

    El Cid

    August 5, 2010 at 8:44 am

    These awesome pro-life types need to move beyond verbiage about “dropping” babies and just get straight to “crapping out” or “pumping out” or “shitting out” their little cretins.

  15. 15.

    El Cid

    August 5, 2010 at 8:48 am

    @SteveinSC: I think we ought to keep pointing out that the last 2 sections of the 14th Amendment are explicitly focused on barring Confederate insurrectionists from holding federal office and blocking any claims of Confederate debts upon the national treasury.

    You simply can’t get away from the anti-Confederate, anti-slavery nature of the 14th Amendment if you highlight that.

  16. 16.

    geg6

    August 5, 2010 at 8:53 am

    Yeah, me, too. Both of my paternal grandparents were born in England and didn’t come here until their adulthood just after WWI. My dad was a first-generation American. Ooooops. I meant anchor baby, because my grandparents didn’t become actual citizens until he and his brothers volunteered to serve in WWII.

    Of course, since I, like that guy somewhere in the Midwest (I think) who is GOPer Hispanic running for some office who says he’s not worried about the Arizona law coming to his state because his kids don’t look Hispanic, don’t look Mexican, this probably won’t affect me.

    Of course, I don’t have a copy of my grandparents’ citizenship papers, so if I, for some reason, am stopped by the Anchor Baby Police, I will be in deep shit.

  17. 17.

    El Cid

    August 5, 2010 at 8:54 am

    O/T: Looks like we can add Poland to Germany as part of the pro-Hamas axis of evil.

  18. 18.

    Violet

    August 5, 2010 at 8:54 am

    Did George Washington have a green card? I think not! He’s the original illegal immigrant.

    And let’s follow up on all those descendants of Thomas Jefferson. The guy got around, and I’m pretty sure his permanent resident visa wasn’t current.

  19. 19.

    El Cid

    August 5, 2010 at 8:56 am

    My grandparents came over here as swarthy Southern Europeans just as the anti-Southern European, dark skinned, Catholic, low intelligence menace was being opposed in American anti-immigrant demagoguery.

  20. 20.

    Snarki, child of Loki

    August 5, 2010 at 8:58 am

    Hey, if your ancestors weren’t here by 1580, you can just STFU and go back where you came from.

    Pushy pilgrim johnny-come-lately idiots picking fights and dropping anchor babies. Ruined the neighborhood, they did.

  21. 21.

    Violet

    August 5, 2010 at 8:59 am

    @LGRooney:

    My son was born overseas but was born a US citizen, can he not be president?

    Unless your son was born on an American military base or in an American embassy or some other form of American “soil” (see the McCain/Panama Canal zone issue), then no, unfortunately he isn’t eligible to be President, according to the current interpretation of the law. At least that’s how I understand it to be interpreted after the whole McCain/Panama thing came to light.

  22. 22.

    kay

    August 5, 2010 at 8:59 am

    @NonyNony:

    Which would mean that without birthright citizenship little Bobby Jindahl might himself have been considered a “permanent resident” and needing to be naturalized into citizenship.

    I’m curious about how it’s going to work. We’re all birthright citizens, with the exception of those who go through a naturalization process. If they repeal birthright citizenship, they’ll have to replace the simple test with a standard.

    What documents are required, and who conducts the parental inquiry at birth? Is there an appeal? If they repeal the 14th amendment then we’re talking about a law that sets standards for everyone.

    Is it one citizen parent? Two? A naturalized citizen-parent but only from certain countries? Can they change that standard with a Congressional majority, at any time?

    They can’t simply apply the standard to those parents who are suspected of being here illegally. It has to apply to every birth, so all of us.

    This would be a really profound change. It calls everyone’s citizenship into question.

  23. 23.

    dmsilev

    August 5, 2010 at 9:06 am

    @LGRooney:

    My son was born overseas but was born a US citizen, can he not be president? And, you will catch hell if you want to argue with me that my son is somehow less American than your own kids.

    My understanding is that “natural born citizen” means “Child of US citizens OR born on US soil”. Not AND. And I would fall into the same category as your son; both of my parents are US citizens, but they were living in France when I was born.

    Personally, I think we should start a movement declaring “natural-born citizen” to not include anyone who was born via C-section. There’s even legal precedent; see the classic case Macbeth v. Macduff.

    dms

  24. 24.

    joe from Lowell

    August 5, 2010 at 9:07 am

    @EconWatcher:

    I guess my grandfather was the ultimate anchor baby. He was conceived in Ireland and then born here shortly after his parents arrived, penniless and hungry.

    I thought all babies were penniless and hungry.

  25. 25.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 9:08 am

    @Violet: And the interpretations that I have read seem to state that as long as you are born an American, you are okay. He has his State Dept. certificate of US citizen born abroad, i.e., you don’t have to be born on American soil, just be born an American.

  26. 26.

    Mpls

    August 5, 2010 at 9:08 am

    Let’s not forget John McCain, the near-opposite of an anchor baby. What kind of rock ribbed conservative gets to be born somewhere near, maybe in some canal zone but gets to claim he was always ‘Merican.

    Ah, never mind, lets do forget him.

  27. 27.

    Mpls

    August 5, 2010 at 9:11 am

    @joe from Lowell:

    I thought all babies were penniless and hungry.

    Unless they are born with a silver foot in their mouth.

  28. 28.

    joe from Lowell

    August 5, 2010 at 9:11 am

    @El Cid:

    We need to bring up the 14th Amendment, and the move to repeal it, every time a Republican uses the words “Lincoln,” “Emancipation,” or “Reconstruction.”

  29. 29.

    R-Jud

    August 5, 2010 at 9:11 am

    @LGRooney: You are right: “natural-born” means child of at least one US parent who lived in the US for most of his/her life before the age of 25.

    I have a child born in the UK, and when we got her certificate done at the Embassy, the lady chirped at her, “Now you can grow up to be president!”

  30. 30.

    beltane

    August 5, 2010 at 9:11 am

    @kay: There are also issues of paternity to consider. What if the father of the baby of an undocumented immigrant is not only a US citizen, but a Realamerican? Will there be routine genetic testing? Does US citizenship transfer down the X or Y chromosome?

    My father was an Italian citizen at the time of my birth, and though my mother was born in the US, I was actually conceived in Italy. Does this mean I am about to get kicked out of my country? Am I entitled to EU citizenship?

  31. 31.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 9:11 am

    @dmsilev: Is Shakespeare admissible? Sounds like one for the Supremes to take up.

  32. 32.

    Jayackroyd

    August 5, 2010 at 9:12 am

    Two Words: Columba Bush.

  33. 33.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 9:14 am

    @beltane: You may be entitled to Italian citizenship and all its benefits. Just check with the Italian embassy as they are looking to bring in “the right kind” of immigrant and those with blood ties to the home country fit the bill nicely.

  34. 34.

    cmorenc

    August 5, 2010 at 9:15 am

    My paternal grandmother came to America through Ellis Island as a frightened 13-year old from the Bavarian region of Germany who couldn’t yet speak a word of English, committed to work as an indentured servant for the folks who paid their passage. She was accompanied only by her older teenage sister, and otherwise left everyone and everything she had known behind to come here, in order to escape crushing poverty.

    In short, she came to this country for exactly the same reasons and in analogous circumstances to why so many Latinos come here – to escape intractable poverty and lack of opportunity where they came from, taking jobs real ‘Mericans” weren’t so eager to take. She did have the advantage of being of white Caucasian ethnic background, and coming at a time when immigration laws weren’t so harshly restrictive.

    I remember visiting Ellis Island in 2000 and standing in the balcony of the large hall where initial processing of every incoming immigrant took place back in the early 1900s, the very room where my grandmother first entered into America, and I could almost see the ghost of that frightened girl and her sister in the room below me ninety+ years before, waiting their turn in line.

  35. 35.

    beltane

    August 5, 2010 at 9:15 am

    @R-Jud: Your child can only grow up to be president if he or she runs as a Republican. Otherwise, your child would be portrayed as a unholy combination of George III, Jack the Ripper, and Boy George.

  36. 36.

    The Other Bob

    August 5, 2010 at 9:17 am

    LGRooney said:

    “How far back do you want to go to ensure that offspring are punished for the illegal entry of their forebears? “

    We now have the question/quote of the day.

  37. 37.

    PurpleGirl

    August 5, 2010 at 9:20 am

    My mother was planted, as it were, on the other side (Sicily) and born here, just weeks after my grandmother got off the boat. My grandfather was here already and had his documents in order so he bring his family over. This circa 1918. After he and his brothers sold the family olive orchard, he came to NYC and his brothers went to Argentina. They became farmers there, my grandfather was a construction/day laborer. My grandfather always talked about unionizing and often didn’t get work because of his talk. His friends would tell him to shut up because he had a family (wife and 8 kids) to feed. I always riled up relatives by saying I was born a lefty liberal and I couldn’t help my heritage.

  38. 38.

    Rosalita

    August 5, 2010 at 9:20 am

    @JCT:

    Actually, these are exactly the types of questions I have been waiting for- along with the rest of their minds, these idgits who want to “fix” the 14th have conveniently forgotten how many of their ancestors arrived. I wouldn’t mind hearing some folks own up on this from both sides. Should be interesting and remind people that this is nation of immigrants.

    Never happen. Not convenient for their argument…selective memory will kick in

  39. 39.

    West of the Cascades

    August 5, 2010 at 9:22 am

    I don’t think anything should be changed in our laws or Constitution about birthright citizenship, and particularly not when it’s being promoted by the people and on the terms that it is.

    But that doesn’t mean that the issue itself is as clear-cut as the comments make it out — it is not obvious that someone should get citizenship in a country just because they are born in that country. In fact, most of the nations in the world do NOT grant citizenship on that basis. Google “jus soli” and “jus sanguinis” — the former is “birthright” citizenship based on being born on a country’s soil, the latter is citizenship based on blood, i.e. you get the citizenship of your parents, regardless of where you were born. 84% of the world bases its citizenship on jus sanguinis – the US and many countries in the Western Hemisphere

    If this wasn’t being pushed by teatards and people who just want to hate on illegal immigrants, there’d be room for a reasonable debate on this issue — namely whether we have the resources to indefinitely expand the US population through expansion of citizenship (which we have some control over). It would be reasonable, for example, to switch (by constitutional amendment) to a law of jus sanguinis, whereby you only are a US citizen if one of your parents is a US citizen — so children born of legal residents, or students here on a visa, do not become US citizens, but citizens of their own country only (and presumably some permanent or temporary resident status in the US).

    It’s the limitation to “children of illegal immigrants” that makes the proposed constitutional amendment so distasteful to me — not the idea of changing the constitution so that we might conform to what most of the rest of the world does as far as determining citizenship. And it’s a pity there can’t be a rational discussion of that because the right would just use any attempt to do that as saying “even liberals support our idea!”

  40. 40.

    cmorenc

    August 5, 2010 at 9:26 am

    @beltane

    My father was an Italian citizen at the time of my birth, and though my mother was born in the US, I was actually conceived in Italy. Does this mean I am about to get kicked out of my country? Am I entitled to EU citizenship?

    If the Italian immigration official whom you apply before gives you a negative ruling, be sure to fall to the ground and roll around holding your ankle and forehead as if writhing in agony from being kicked and elbowed. The official will surely recognize diving skills such as only a true son of the Italian national soccer team could possess, and approve your application immediately.

  41. 41.

    West of the Cascades

    August 5, 2010 at 9:28 am

    @beltane: Yes, you’d be entitled to Italian (and EU citizenship) because one of your parents was an Italian citizen. No, you’re not going to get kicked out of the US because of that. I have a friend in almost the same situation as you, and the mighty Wikipedia bears it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_nationality_law

  42. 42.

    Punchy

    August 5, 2010 at 9:29 am

    While we’re fucking around with the Consty, can we get an Amendment or two allowing women to walk dogs topless and a salary cap for baseball (read: the Yankees)?

  43. 43.

    Violet

    August 5, 2010 at 9:34 am

    @West of the Cascades:
    Agreed. And it wouldn’t be wrong for the US to switch to the “jus sanguinis” model, but it would change how we view things.

    In our much more mobile world, it makes sense to have laws that reflect that reality. Back a couple of centuries ago, if someone was born here, they were more likely to stay here. These days it’s a lot simpler to get on a plane and return to another country.

  44. 44.

    Violet

    August 5, 2010 at 9:37 am

    @LGRooney:
    I’m glad if my understanding is wrong. It is wrong that someone whose parents are American, who is being raised as an American, but was born elsewhere (a place they may only have stayed a very short time) would not be eligible to be President.

  45. 45.

    roshan

    August 5, 2010 at 9:37 am

    Only the immortal words spoken by Jobs at the unveiling of every damn new Apple product can summarize this well.

    This Changes Everything, Again!

    Maybe the GOoPs can adopt the above slogan to facilitate their trashing of the Constitution.

  46. 46.

    Face

    August 5, 2010 at 9:39 am

    see the McCain/Panama Canal zone issue

    So, what you’re saying is….to be a citizen, you have to born in a canal? Does this mean we deport the C-sectioned?

  47. 47.

    West of the Cascades

    August 5, 2010 at 9:40 am

    @LGRooney: But hang on to that Certificate — he may need to produce it if he ever runs for President!!

  48. 48.

    NonyNony

    August 5, 2010 at 9:56 am

    @kay:

    This would be a really profound change. It calls everyone’s citizenship into question.

    Ironically the folks born to parents living on reservations would have the least to prove.

    Doubly ironic – most of their ancestors weren’t considered citizens until the 1920s.

  49. 49.

    Nicole

    August 5, 2010 at 9:57 am

    @Punchy:

    While we’re fucking around with the Consty, can we get an Amendment or two allowing women to walk dogs topless and a salary cap for baseball (read: the Yankees)?

    One of those two things is already legal in NYC. I’m not sure how well the other would go down here, though.

  50. 50.

    ruemara

    August 5, 2010 at 10:11 am

    I’m worse than you. My kitty is an anchor baby! I’m just an immigrant, who’s kids will never, evah, be legal. Asses.

  51. 51.

    jibeaux

    August 5, 2010 at 10:11 am

    @West of the Cascades:

    I don’t disagree with any of this, but changing the entire way we look at citizenship seems to me to be:

    a) a logistical nightmare
    and b) fixing something that ain’t broke. Because right-wingers aren’t proposing this because they want to be more like France. Yes, the immigration system is broken, but not because of the 14th amendment.

  52. 52.

    Fleas correct the era

    August 5, 2010 at 10:19 am

    Grand Old Colossus

    Give me the rents.
    Keep the tired tired, keep the poor wretched and poor,
    The huddled masses unemployed and the wages low.
    I’ve got mine by hurting you.
    So what?
    I lift my leg beside the golden door.

  53. 53.

    jibeaux

    August 5, 2010 at 10:22 am

    @kay: \

    Exactly. Logistical nightmare. To prove mine, I could just produce my birth certificate. But change that, and now I’ve got to show what, exactly? Whatever that’s determined to be, there’s a headache behind it. We could have whole new episodes of Maury where the US-born children of an illegal immigrant mother with no father listed trackdown a line up of men to give paternity tests to in a crap TV doubleheader: Who’s Your Daddy? And Did He Have the Sense To Be An American?

  54. 54.

    shortstop

    August 5, 2010 at 10:23 am

    Hey, if your ancestors weren’t here by 1580, you can just STFU and go back where you came from.

    I’d like to amend this to include prison transport ships that arrived slightly later carrying my ne’er-do-well ancestors. This qualifies me to be a Daughter of the American Revolution, BTW, although I’ve never taken them up on that offer. Welcome to America! Now speak jailhouse slang!

    Someone mentioned Nikki Haley, who was born in South Carolina to immigrants from India; I believe her parents were both citizens by the time of her birth.

  55. 55.

    Leo

    August 5, 2010 at 10:26 am

    @The Other Bob:

    “How far back do you want to go to ensure that offspring are punished for the illegal entry of their forebears? “

    I believe the biblical standard is seven generations. I see no reason that that shouldn’t apply here.

  56. 56.

    OldK

    August 5, 2010 at 10:33 am

    But why stop at the anchor? TPaw, for example, is a generation or two from anchor babies, just like most residents of that part of the world.

    I’m a resident of that part of the world, and I don’t know what you’re talking about. All my great-grandparents, and most of my great-greats, were born in this country, and the Swedes in Minnesota go back just as many generations.

    The idea is valid, but the factual generalizations are bizarre.

  57. 57.

    kay

    August 5, 2010 at 10:33 am

    @beltane:

    There are also issues of paternity to consider. What if the father of the baby of an undocumented immigrant is not only a US citizen, but a Realamerican? Will there be routine genetic testing? Does US citizenship transfer down the X or Y chromosome?

    Oh, God, you’re absolutely right. I hadn’t considered that. It occurred to me during the whole birther fiasco with Obama, and, actually, during the much more dignified inquiry into the circumstances of McCain’s birth, because, well, it’s reality. We are who we say we are right? Most of us just accept the representation, because, really, who the hell wants to open that can of worms? What new hell would we enter if everyone was subject to endless analysis on who they are?

    Not a good idea.

    It all goes back to “legitimacy”, doesn’t it?

    All of the “inquiries” and “concerns” of the last two years go back to ” how legitimate are you?”

    I approach it from the opposite direction. I always assume they’re getting ready to kick me out, that I’m next :)

  58. 58.

    Will

    August 5, 2010 at 10:38 am

    “By the way, the Governor’s mother was here as a permanent resident not on a student visa, which makes the question not just ridiculous but irrelevant,” he said.

    Jindal is such a coward. He can’t even bring himself to say “This whole argument is wrong. My story along with many, many others is an example of why we should not be contemplating the end of birthright citizenship.” Instead, he just parses with this nonsensical, “Permanent residency is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!!!”

  59. 59.

    FoxinSocks

    August 5, 2010 at 10:44 am

    As I’ve mentioned before, my mother was not an American citizen when I was born and her legal status was…complicated (Mom came to visit a pen pal for a month, 36 years later, she’s still here).

    Better yet, my great-great grandfather was on the run from the law and snuck into the US to start a new life. He changed his name and promptly went about causing all sorts of trouble, like fighting for his country and becoming a productive member of society.

    Then again, on my paternal grandmother’s side, we’re Native American. So sometimes I wonder what all you illegal immigrants are doing on my land.

  60. 60.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 10:47 am

    @jibeaux: 3 words: One World Government! Not anarchy, I’m too much a pansy to live on Planet Rand, but eliminate nationalities and nations.

  61. 61.

    kay

    August 5, 2010 at 10:48 am

    @Will:

    It’s such a sad statement to me, because it’s defensive.

    It’s an implicit recognition that there are two kinds of citizens, if not by operation of law, then by conservative’s perception.
    Bobby Jindal, although we have birthright citizenship and he is exactly as legally legitimate as someone whose family has been here for generations, feels he has to make a legal distinction that makes him “more American” than a child of an undocumented. It doesn’t, but that doesn’t matter. He accepts the premise.
    He’s already living in the reality they want to create.

  62. 62.

    jrg

    August 5, 2010 at 10:49 am

    @Leo:

    I believe the biblical standard is seven generations. I see no reason that that shouldn’t apply here.

    Now that’s just ridiculous. How am I supposed to prove that my ancestors arrived here on a pterodactyl?

  63. 63.

    LGRooney

    August 5, 2010 at 10:50 am

    @Leo: 7 generations? Hell’s bells, I’m illegal everywhere!!

  64. 64.

    Ash Can

    August 5, 2010 at 10:55 am

    @OldK: And how, the factual generalizations are bizarre. That’s the point. If not for the 14th Amendment, none of those Minnesota Scandinavian descendants would be US citizens, because they all would have been born of non-US-citizen parents. That’s what obliterating birthright citizenship does.

  65. 65.

    Mnemosyne

    August 5, 2010 at 11:01 am

    @West of the Cascades:

    But that doesn’t mean that the issue itself is as clear-cut as the comments make it out—it is not obvious that someone should get citizenship in a country just because they are born in that country. In fact, most of the nations in the world do NOT grant citizenship on that basis.

    Yes, and many of them have developed huge internal problems because of that. Take a look at Germany, where they have second- and third-generation Turks who were not allowed to become citizens and all of the problems that go along with that. Or Japan, where illegitimate “foreign” children often ended up in a legal limbo where they’re not Japanese citizens but had no country that will take them. That situation wasn’t remedied until 2008.

  66. 66.

    gex

    August 5, 2010 at 11:07 am

    If the impossible happens and they manage to make this change, it should be retroactive. Anyone who’s citizenship line came from non-American citizens giving birth to their ancestor here will have to renounce it. Not just brown people, either.

  67. 67.

    burnspbesq

    August 5, 2010 at 11:08 am

    The wingers are on the way to solving the immigration “problem” through other means. Trash the economy, no jobs, no reason for anyone to want to come here. Problem solved!

  68. 68.

    Cathy W

    August 5, 2010 at 11:09 am

    @jibeaux:
    right-wingers aren’t proposing this because they want to be more like France.

    No kidding. I keep wanting to cross-reference a list of countries that don’t use jus solis with a list of countries that have universal health care and let gays get married and/or serve in the military… but I suspect “that’s different”.

  69. 69.

    scav

    August 5, 2010 at 11:16 am

    I can see their ads already, somber music, grim shadowy shots of a dusky Ellis Island interior. Voice intoning: “Never again.”

    Hell, like a lot here, I’m wondering which side of the corporeal body to loath. The came in 1630s and advanced across the country ahead of legally permitted settlement half is apparently prime quality but the came in 1900s as Austrian draft dodgers and seekers of religious freedom Eastern European Menace half will clearly have to go. Longitudinal or Latitudinal slice do you think?

  70. 70.

    Wordsmith

    August 5, 2010 at 11:52 am

    OH.MY.GOD!!

    I just realized my own father – my OWN father – is, yes, whisper it! An anchor baby. No wait. His mother was born here. Oh whew….whew….close. My grandfather was born in Norway and sneaked (snuck?) gained passage onto a ship at 17.

    Now I just realized my paternal grandmother – Really – SHE was an anchor baby. Where will this end? Jezzus

    As for my mother’s side of the family. they were all Irish – ’nuff said.

  71. 71.

    patrick II

    August 5, 2010 at 12:13 pm

    So, where did Grahams’s mom drop him? And how far do you think he dropped before he hit ground?

  72. 72.

    daveNYC

    August 5, 2010 at 12:34 pm

    This would be a really profound change. It calls everyone’s citizenship into question.

    And take a look at all the equal protection language that is in the 14th. Get rid of that amendment, and the Republicans would have some great tools to stave off demographic changes impacting their ability to hold power.

    Don’t have to worry about the hispanic vote if you don’t let them vote.

  73. 73.

    kay

    August 5, 2010 at 12:43 pm

    @daveNYC:

    Don’t have to worry about the hispanic vote if you don’t let them vote.

    There’s a lot of commonality between this ridiculous argument and the ridiculous voter fraud argument.

    They need to amend the constitution to fight the huge and growing problem of “citizenship tourism” just like they needed to add ID provisions in 26 states to fight the huge and growing problem of voter fraud. Except no one can find any evidence of a huge and growing problem with voter fraud, and ID wouldn’t solve that anyway.

    These elaborate solutions they propose to not-really-fix problems that barely exist should be a tip-off that they’re not telling the truth.

  74. 74.

    David Brooks

    August 5, 2010 at 12:53 pm

    “Then they came for the children of legal immigrants, and I did not say anything, because I am not…”

    Seriously, while nativists may shout that “this is only about children of ILLEGAL immigrants. What part of ILLEGAL don’t you understand?” this is really about fear of the other. If they manage to get a constitutionally acceptable definition of illegal (they won’t), it’s just the thin end of the wedge.

    I’ll be frank. One of the reasons I became a citizen after 24 years with a green card was that my resident status suddenly began to feel uncomfortable. I could see the drift of antipathy towards me. That, plus I really wanted to vote in 2008. And, as it turns out, many people in the same naturalization cohort felt exactly the same, on both counts.

    For most of the 80’s and 90’s, permanent resident felt like a pretty good compromise, except for the voting thing. After 9/11, I felt subtly threatened, second-class. I just escaped the change to requiring fingerprints and photos on returning from international travel.

  75. 75.

    David Brooks (not that one)

    August 5, 2010 at 1:05 pm

    @kay: Howsabout a child conceived in vitro, with an unidentified biological father, an permanent resident surrogate mother, an illegal immigrant adoptive mother and a True Merkun adoptive father? Huh? Huh? Quick, a decision on the child’s citizenship.

    Yes, I realize that all the countries with jus sanguinis have to figure out questions like that. I’d just like to propose the scenario to a 14ther and see their brows furrow.

  76. 76.

    Cacti

    August 5, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    What I’m wondering about Piyush’s parents is, did they do a bit of fibbing to get over here in the first place?

    Call me crazy, but I find it hard to believe that the INS was anxious to throw the gates open for a pregnant brown foreign lady in 1971.

  77. 77.

    Cacti

    August 5, 2010 at 1:16 pm

    I think the best way to frame the argument against this is to take a page from the right wing play book…

    The GOP is attacking defenseless babies.

    They want to change the Constitution to punish the unborn.

  78. 78.

    Mpls

    August 5, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    @kay:

    These elaborate solutions they propose to not-really-fix problems that barely exist should be a tip-off that they’re not telling the truth.

    It’s hardly original of me to say it, but: Their lips are moving. That’s the tip-off.

  79. 79.

    Mpls

    August 5, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    @Cacti:

    I’d suggest “preborn” Its got that extra-creepy edge to it.

  80. 80.

    Mark

    August 5, 2010 at 1:31 pm

    @Violet:

    Lowell Weicker, George Romney, Barry Goldwater and John McCain were all born outside US soil (the law was changed after McCain’s birth) and they had no problem running for president.

  81. 81.

    deminoz

    August 5, 2010 at 1:55 pm

    But my great grandparents came here amidst the irish potato famine and promised to go back after 3 yrs — apparently sponsored by some catholic group….but didn’t. I know for a fact that there isn’t a single record of their ‘citisenship’ but i have 3 aunts/1 uncle/14 cousins/6 siblings/8 neices and nephews/ and countless second and third cousins…………….all born here. But we are all anchor babies and not citizens and therefore eligible to be booted out according to what the Retards want to put into effect.

  82. 82.

    Vlad

    August 5, 2010 at 2:47 pm

    And I would fall into the same category as your son; both of my parents are US citizens, but they were living in France when I was born.

    As am I, except with Australia. Parents were US citizens overseas for a year on business, and I was born in the middle of it.

  83. 83.

    No Name, no State

    August 5, 2010 at 3:30 pm

    My parents were both legal immigrants, but I rescued my wife from a life of undocumented-cash-under-the-table-low-paying-jobs, in Arizona, by marrying her. Of course, she looks “white”, so Mighty Joe Arpaio wouldn’t be on her case. What kind of a name is “Arpaio”, anyways? Sounds furrin to me, maybe from a Papist country.

  84. 84.

    Lysana

    August 5, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    My father was one of five anchor babies born to a permanent resident from Canada and a former US citizen who was stripped of her native-born citizenship when she married him (oh, yes, it did happen here). So on that side, I’m screwed. On the bright side, If i did get deported, I’d have health care. So bring on the end of jus sanguinis!

    Oh, wait. Mother’s side goes back to the Natives. Bugger.

  85. 85.

    asiangrrlMN

    August 5, 2010 at 7:06 pm

    This is what I’m talking about! I am an anchor baby. Neither of my parents were citizens when I was born. They were not permanent legal residents. This is why I am brushing up on my dual citizenship requirements–in case they manage to repeal the 14th amendment and make it retroactive! Good-bye, MN. Sniff sniff.

    On the plus side, for now, I can be president. On the minus side, why the hell would anyone want to be president?

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