By
Stephen Dinan; THE WASHINGTON TIMES; Published November 4, 2005
House
Republicans are looking closely at ending birthright citizenship and building a
barrier along the entire U.S.-Mexico border as they search for solutions to
illegal immigration.
A
task force of party leaders and members active on immigration has met since the
summer to try to figure out where consensus exists, and several participants
said those two ideas have floated to the top of the list of possibilities to be
included either in an immigration-enforcement bill later this year or in a
later comprehensive immigration overhaul.
"There
is a general agreement about the fact that citizenship in this country should
not be bestowed on people who are the children of folks who come into this
country illegally," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, Colorado Republican, who is
participating in the "unity dinners," the group of Republicans trying
to find consensus on immigration.
Birthright
citizenship, or what critics call "anchor babies," means that any
child born on U.S. soil is granted citizenship, with exceptions for foreign
diplomats. That attracts illegal aliens, who have children in the United
States; those children later can sponsor their parents for legal immigration.
Most
lawmakers had avoided the issue, fearing that change would require a
constitutional amendment -- the 14th Amendment reads in part: "All persons
born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States."
But
several Republicans said recent studies suggest otherwise.
"There's
been recent scholarship that says we can do it by statute, and we ought to
try," said Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, who usually finds himself
on the opposite side of immigration issues from Mr. Tancredo.
"How
in the world can you explain that's a good policy to have? It simply doesn't
promote respect for the rule of law," Mr. Flake said.
Several
lawmakers said the U.S. and Mexico are the only major Western countries to have
birthright citizenship. Most European countries have moved away from birthright
citizenship in recent decades.
"I
am as surprised as anyone that this thing has got legs," Mr. Tancredo
said, adding that he views it as a major step forward for the immigration
debate. "This is the issue that motivated me to deal with
immigration."
While
some members said it could be part of an immigration bill later this year, Rep.
Dan Lungren, California Republican, said it will take longer to drum up public
support for such a major change, though he backs ending the policy.
"Some
of us believe we have depreciated the value of citizenship," he said.
Meanwhile,
the idea of a fence or other barrier also is gaining support.
At
this week's "unity dinner," House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois
Republican, said he supports a barrier system of fences in some places and electronic
surveillance or vehicle barriers in others, one participant said.
Mr.
Hastert's spokesman said the speaker would not talk about the private meetings.
Border
barriers received a big boost yesterday when Rep. Duncan Hunter, California
Republican and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, announced a broad
enforcement bill with a fence as its centerpiece.
"The
fence works," Mr. Hunter said. He led the fight earlier in this Congress
to complete a 14-mile section of fence near San Diego, and he and other members
said the success there gives the idea momentum.
"Those
who say the fence won't work, frankly, don't have experience with fences,"
said Rep. Geoff Davis, a Kentucky Republican who is supporting Mr. Hunter's
bill.
But
Mr. Flake and fellow Arizona Republican Rep. Jim Kolbe, who both support
legalizing illegal aliens and raising legal immigration levels by 400,000 per
year, said a fence would not work.
Mr.
Flake said it would not affect those illegal aliens -- about half of the total
immigrant population -- who came to the United States on legal temporary visas
and have overstayed. He also said he does not want it to sap energy from a
comprehensive solution.
"My
fear is people will say let's build a fence and put off any guest-worker,
border enforcement, interior enforcement for years," he said.
Rep.
John Shadegg, the Arizona Republican who runs the dinners, said they are
reaching some areas of consensus, though he would not specify and said
committee chairmen would have to write the eventual bill.
But
he said the effort has convinced the White House to do more to enforce the
borders -- something he said was reflected both in President Bush's remarks
upon signing the homeland security spending bill and in congressional testimony
by the Homeland Security secretary.
Mr.
Shadegg said the group has talked about border barriers and electronic
surveillance, and said he is a fan of using unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol
the border, particularly because they can track criminal behavior, which is
crucial in establishing a chain of evidence to convict drug or alien smugglers.
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