The state legislators from across the nation gathered for a press conference in Washington, DC to unveil legislation that they hope will restore proper application of the 14th Amendment by eliminating the automatic granting of citizenship to children born to illegal aliens. The State Legislators for Legal Immigration (SLLI) has written two bills for introduction in multiple legislatures that SLLI hopes will spur the federal government into ending the practice of granting birthright citizenship to children born to illegal aliens.
In the proposed legislation includes both a bill and a state compact. Mr Kris Kobach (Kansas’s Secretary of State) explained that the bill does not amend the United States Constitution or change the legal rights of any individual. Rather, the bill serves to restore the concept of state citizenship and asserts states’ authority to establish requirements for state citizenship. Meanwhile, the compact would serve as an agreement among signatory states to distinguish the birth certificates of those born to illegal aliens in comparison to those born to legal permanent residents or citizens. Even after adopted by the states, however, the compact will not take effect until Congress gives its consent to the agreement.
At the press conference, state representatives from Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia and Arizona spoke in support of the legislation and each member will be introducing the legislation before his own representative assembly in the coming weeks. SLLI expects that legislators in at least 14 states will work to advance these measures on birthright citizenship.
