More Madness from Arizona!
by Tony Chavira
Just when you thought it was an atrocity that the state of Arizona wanted everyone to carry around their IDs in case they were suspected illegal immigrants, enter Senate Bill 1070...
A proposed Arizona law would deny birth certificates to children born in the United States to illegal immigrant parents.
The bill comes on the heels of Arizona passing the nation's toughest immigration law.
John Kavanagh, a Republican state representative from Arizona who supports the proposed law aimed at so-called "anchor babies," said that the concept does not conflict with the U.S. Constitution.
"If you go back to the original intent of the drafters ... it was never intended to bestow citizenship upon (illegal) aliens," said Kavanagh, who also supported Senate Bill 1070 -- the law that gave Arizona authorities expanded immigration enforcement powers.
Under federal law, children born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship, regardless of their parents' residency status.Kyrsten Sinema, a Democratic state representative, strongly opposes the bill.
"Unlike (Senate Bill) 1070, it is clear this bill runs immediately afoul of the U.S. Constitution," she said.
"While I understand that folks in Arizona and across the country support S.B. 1070, they do so because we have seen no action from the federal government," said Sinema. "Unfortunately, the so-called 'anchor baby' bill does nothing to solve the real problems we are facing in Arizona."
It's pretty clear that even if this passes, the Supreme Court will rule it totally unconstitutional, but are extreme stunts like this really necessary to keep immigration reform on the forefront of the nation's mind? Is an extreme move to push forward racist legislation for shock value really the way Arizona legislators want the rest of the country to see their intentions? If anything, the passing of these kinds of blatantly anti-constitutional laws make you want to invade Arizona and force it back into the Union in a civil kind of war (so to speak).
Does mocking constitutional principles for attention really serve the best interests of anyone involved in legislating in Arizona? Does it help the cause for either tightening security along the borders OR faciliting immigration into the country by passing legislation that makes such a large group of people seem completely intolerant?
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