What do these “birthers” think is going to be the status of the children and grandchildren? Okay, we have a baby born here, denied citizenship, and not eligible to be a citizen anywhere else. And what about their children a generation later? Are we going to have entire cohorts of non-citizens who were born here but denied citizenship because of their parents’ status?
It’s not just immoral and unconstitutional. It’s untenable.
My grandmother was an immigrant brought her as a baby. Her parents were not citizens, though they lived and worked here for decades. My grandfather was born here but his parents were not completely legally here. (Everything was considerably more ad hoc back then.) Still because he was born here, his citizenship was never in doubt.
So was my father (born here) illegal? Of course not. No matter what, he was a full citizen, and contributed greatly to the country in his own modest way. But his clear status will be denied to other good future Americans if these xenophobes get their way.
I first heard “War of Northern Aggression” on The Beverly Hillbillies from Granny, who was like J.D. Vance but smarter and funnier. See also the 14th Amendment for historical context.
If your kid has a birth cert that reads, say, “Place of birth”: [a US city], then that kid’s a US citizen.
Correction: I called a friend who knew these this couple. They were accountants, not diplomats.
All of reminds me that I had not heard “anchor baby” until maybe 25(?) yrs ago when it struck me that we have had two in my extended family. My great maternal grandma was born in the US of her Italian parents, brought back to Italy, then brought back here as a citizen. And my late father-in-law was born here of Irish parents, then returned to the US at age 15.
When I worked in NYC in the mid-70s, it seemed like every other person had an Irish accent. I asked one of these men about it. He said they would come here on a tourist visa and just park in the Bronx Irish community, find work and just stay. I’ve never heard of one effort to deport them.
“Originalism” is a doctrine by which they can give some legal cover for their attempts to reverse progress, abridge civil rights, put more weapons in the hands of right-wingers, and so on.
In the 70s, we had thousands of Irishmen and women come to NYC on a tourist visa and just park themselves. I never heard of any deported.
In the 90s, we had thousands of Chinese do the same. Never heard of any deported. Both groups were supported by settled groups of their respective ethnicity.
