The problem is, as Coolidge once wrote - either the Constitution is the highest law of the land, or it is not.
The Fourteenth - the purpose was to provide citizenship for slaves (who most certainly were born here), and for those who had, up until then - been born outside America, and were presently residing in territory that was now America. This is the only good way to accomplish both of these goals at the same time.
Basing it on the citizenship of your parents, would have lead to a permanent underclass (a-la Europe). Something - at the time, was not what America granted. Is it radical to provide citizenship to someone without regard to their country of origin? Absolutely - but that is part of what made America what it is.
There is absolutely no need to ‘enforce’ things this way. Enforce immigration laws by deportation. This is just a fool’s errand that has deep and long lasting consequences. Negative ones that serve to help no one whatsoever.
Yes. And it bothers me that some who claim to be conservatives want to simply throw an accurate understanding of the Constitution out of the window and insist is says stuff it doesn't say, simply because they don't like what it does say.
This is not a conservative attitude at all. This is a "by-G*d-I-want-my-way-the-real-Constitution-be-d***ed" attitude. To me, it's the same attitude as that of many liberals.
Basing it on the citizenship of your parents, would have lead to a permanent underclass (a-la Europe).
To a significant degree, it could have. It's an absurdity.
Imagine the Amish who immigrated here from Germany starting back before there ever WAS a United States of America.
This is a very close-knit community of people. Suppose being a citizen required citizen parents, and suppose that many of the original immigrants never went through the naturalization process. We could have people being born now all of whose ancestors have lived their entire lives in the United States 7 or 8 or 9 generations, who were "aliens."
Is it radical to provide citizenship to someone without regard to their country of origin? Absolutely - but that is part of what made America what it is.
I think it was radical to welcome immigrants in the way that we did, and to declare that all races were equal. But as for the citizenship, I don't think that was radical at all. It was simply the continuation of the policy and law as it had already existed for centuries.
There is absolutely no need to ‘enforce’ things this way. Enforce immigration laws by deportation. This is just a fool’s errand that has deep and long lasting consequences. Negative ones that serve to help no one whatsoever.
Agreed.