The Conservative Cave
Current Events => Politics => Topic started by: DixieBelle on January 08, 2008, 10:14:59 AM
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Mike Huckabee wants to amend the Constitution to prevent children born in the U.S. to illegal aliens from automatically becoming American citizens, according to his top immigration surrogate — a radical step no other major presidential candidate has embraced.
Mr. Huckabee, who won last week's Republican Iowa caucuses, promised Minuteman Project founder James Gilchrist that he would force a test case to the Supreme Court to challenge birthright citizenship, and would push Congress to pass a 28th Amendment to the Constitution to remove any doubt.
The former Arkansas governor thinks the case against U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean was railroaded, Mr. Gilchrist said. Ramos and Compean are serving lengthy prison sentences for shooting a fleeing drug-smuggling suspect in the buttocks.
"I would make it my first act as president to pardon agents Ramos and Compean," Mr. Gilchrist said Mr. Huckabee told him. "I regret that they have spent yet another Christmas locked up in a windowless cell like animals and unable to be free and with their families."
Mr. Gilchrist, who campaigned with Mr. Huckabee in Iowa last week, said Mr. Huckabee explained his positions in a half-hour conversation on the campaign trail.
"I read back my notes to him twice and I told him I did not want to put words in his mouth," said Mr. Gilchrist, who also issued a press release from the Minuteman Project detailing Mr. Huckabee's positions. "The guy looked me right in the eye."
Campaign spokeswoman Kirsten Fedewa said Mr. Huckabee intends to review the case against Ramos and Compean as one of his first acts as president, but she didn't otherwise dispute Mr. Gilchrist's quotes as provided by The Washington Times.
Miss Fedewa said Mr. Huckabee and Mr. Gilchrest are "united by a mutual desire to end illegal immigration and are political allies toward that end."
Mr. Huckabee has defended his policies on illegal aliens while he was Arkansas governor. He pressed for illegal aliens to gain college tuition benefits, complained about federal immigration raids in his state and declined to have state police enforce immigration laws, although the state legislature gave him the authority to do so.
Mr. Huckabee now has adopted one of the strictest immigration platforms of any campaign. He has proposed a policy requiring all illegal aliens to return home and apply for immigration through legal channels.
His new position on birthright citizenship also puts him alone among the candidates. Many legal scholars say the 14th Amendment, which says "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States," grants automatic citizenship to any baby born in the U.S., except in diplomatic cases.
Members of Congress have never tried to change birthright citizenship by law.
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080108/NATION/311698216/1001
Emboldened by Iowa, he's taking the rhetoric up a notch I see. Given his track record in Arkansas, I'm wary of his stance. I like it and endorse it. But I don't see him pulling it off or even being sincere.
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There's no reason to amend the constitution. The 14th amendment was made to give citizenship to former slaves and their children after the Civil War. The amendment states that persons will be granted citizenship if their parents have a connection to the US. In that case it was slaves born in the US. It was not meant to cover illegals coming here and giving birth. This amendment has been bastardized by activist lawyers through court cases to include children of illegal aliens. That is what needs to changed or vacated or whatever.
Huckabee talks of an amendment because he knows how difficult it would be to do that. It shows me at least that he really doesn't want it.
http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
Illegals are not subject to the jurisdiction, they have no immigration papers, they technically aren't even in the United States. And some illegal alien activist groups are fighting to make illegals even less subject to the jurisdiction thereof.
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It will be interesting to see how this idea of his plays out.
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He is just trying to cover his ass for giving scholarships to illegals when he was Gov. in AR. Just posturing on his part.
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He is just trying to cover his ass for giving scholarships to illegals when he was Gov. in AR. Just posturing on his part.
I agree, trying to compensate for something else. Now he's being overzealous on the issue .
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I think the story was a scam. It was put out there on the NH primary day. He denied it later in the day. By the way, his camp does not deny the story- just that he was the one who said it.
I am a Christian and I do not trust that guy worth a lick.