Comments in Response to Gene Rennels

I am speaking only of Oberweis' support for stripping U.S. born children, of illegal immigrants, of their citizenship, their "Birthright" citizenship, as granted to them by the 14th Amendment. I am not speaking of the parents who have broken the immigration law and must resolve that transgression in some manner. Equal protection, under the 14th amendment, was explicitly established for children of illegal immigrants by the Supreme Court in "Plyer vs. Doe" 1982. Read the footnotes in the decision for clarity.

     The 14th Amendment was proposed in 1866 and passed in 1868 to provide citizenship protection for ex-slaves. The Ku Klux Klan sought, through direct and nefarious methods, to dilute the protection of the 14th Amendment. Anyone who also seeks to dilute the protections offered by the 14th Amendment, shares the agenda of the Ku Klux Klan, by the most simple logic. The means may be different, the agenda is still the same, diluting the 14th Amendment.

     Stripping any U.S. born children of their citizenship based on the actions (legal transgressions) of their parents would set a very dangerous precedent. Who would be next? The children of convicted felons, of welfare mothers, of Muslims, of Jews, of Republicans? Gene Rennels needs to give a little more thought to where diluting the 14th amendment comes from, and where it leads, before being so quick to support the position.

     Current U.S. Immigration policy is a mess. Diluting the 14th Amendment is not a solution, or even a part of the solution. It is far too drastic a step, akin to hitting a fly with a sledge hammer. Secure boaders, proper identification, sanctions on employers and some equitable solution for those already hear with clean records are part of the discussion. Diluting the 14th Amendment should be taken off the table.