Birthright Citizenship or Opportunistic GOP Demagoguery

Just when you think there is nothing Republican congressional leaders could do to further alienate the GOP from Latinos and immigrant voters, when so many claim faith in Christian values that could not conceivably allow them to be even more vicious to their fellow human beings, when their alleged commitment to the unborn and family values would prevent them from bashing pregnant women and children, out they come with another Draconian measure that makes the others seem mild.

Their inhumanity has no limits, and neither does their opportunistic demagoguery!

Their latest circus show — for the consumption of right-wing extremists — is their idea to deny U.S. citizenship to the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants.

They are against illegal immigrants, yet they are promoting a change that would create many more illegal immigrants from the moment they are born! They complain that many immigrants are unwilling to assimilate into U.S. society, yet they oppose birthright citizenship, which is the key factor promoting assimilation. In an Internet discussion, one of their xenophobic constituents actually put it in biblical terms. "Illegal begets illegal," he wrote.

It goes against everything they allegedly stand for, but if it's politically expedient, if it will help them rally extremists and raise money, they appear to be saying "what the heck?" They have no principles!

You always hear them bragging about how they are the ultimate and purist defenders of the U.S. Constitution. But this time, they want a constitutional amendment!

Of course, they know such a cockamamie idea has absolutely no chance of going through the incredibly difficult requirements for a constitutional amendment. It has to be passed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress and ratified by the legislatures of 38 states. It only has happened 17 times in 215 years — and for much more valid reasons. But they don't care! This is only an election year stunt in the circus for right-wing extremists.

Obviously, these are "leaders" who don't really care about the future of their own party. They care only about the next election and what they can gain from bashing immigrants now. Even their own political strategists and pollsters keep telling them that they are burying the future of the Republican Party, that our changing demographics are bound to catch up to them, that minority Americans are not likely to forget how cruel they have been.

But they are, at best, shortsighted. At worst, they are opportunistic politicians who put their selfish interests before those of even their own party, not to mention crucial national issues, such as real and comprehensive immigration reform.

Amazingly, the wackos in Arizona, already rejected by a federal court for trying to circumvent federal immigration law, are actually trying to ban birthright citizenship with a state law that would circumvent the Constitution.

The argument for revising the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees that all (with a few small exceptions) who are born in U.S. territory become American citizens, is that too many pregnant illegal immigrant women are coming here just to have U.S. citizen babies. They say the 14th Amendment provides an incentive for immigrants to enter the country illegally.

It's hogwash! Nowadays, with conditions as difficult as they are for illegal immigrants to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, they expect us to believe that hordes of pregnant women are hiking across deserts and jumping over tall fences to get into the United States. They also are selling the farce that there is a growth in "birth tourism," as if our customs agents at U.S. ports could not spot women who are close to giving birth! And so they need a constitutional amendment to then go around chasing pregnant women.

Sen. Lindsey Graham brought it up. He recently suggested that he is "considering" a constitutional amendment that already has been introduced — and mostly ignored — in the House of Representatives for several years. His cheap rhetoric then was repeated by House Minority Leader John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former presidential candidate John McCain and a few other prominent Republican lawmakers who — facing right-wing criticism or even more conservative challengers — have put their principles on sale and called for congressional hearings.

The overwhelming majority of the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants were conceived here, on U.S. soil. Republican leaders know this, but it's not convenient for them to acknowledge it to their xenophobic constituents. They also know that the parents of those U.S.-born American citizens are mostly hardworking people — mostly Christians, like them — who have sacrificed by working at our most menial and demeaning jobs while helping to keep our U.S. economy afloat.

But, of course, this is something they never would acknowledge, not when they are catering to the latest wave of xenophobia sweeping this country. The GOP leadership is waging that — in the November midterm elections — xenophobic voters in key states and districts will outnumber immigrants and other Americans who don't suffer from such paranoia.

Who knows? They may be right! But this definitely would be their last hurrah! Demographics are bound to walk all over them.

I say we should let these so constitutional, so Christian, so family values-oriented, so pro-life and so hypocritical politicians make their arguments against pregnant women and children. It could mark the beginning of their end as alleged public servants.

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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