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In a statement Tuesday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, whom the Seattle Times says is a possible 2020 candidate for governor, says he will sue President Trump if he tries to end birthright citizenship, without amending the Constitution.
The president called for an end to the much-abused "right," because the 14th Amendment doesn't actually provide for it---and he says he thinks he can end it with an executive order.
The Motives.
The Seattle Times quotes A/G Ferguson: "No matter how much he may want to appeal to the alt-right, President Trump can't alter the Constitution through executive order. If he tries, we will immediately take him to court---and defeat him again."
Ferguson is both condescending and cocky.
Ferguson's office says he has filed 32 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and not lost a case. He has also sued Barronelle Stutzman, the florist in Richland, for her biblical belief in marriage.
In fact, the Seattle Times notes that he's sued Trump so many times, it's caused Republicans in state government to begin asking what his motive is---and does he realize how much he's costing the state?
Ferguson says the costs are "minimal"---and regarding his true motives...the Times says he probably has his eye on the governor's office.
I'm pretty sure the Times is right. Inslee has indicated interest in being president of the United States.
Earlier this week, President Trump said too many foreigners are taking advantage of what he and other conservatives consider to be a misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment.
And he told the press, his advisers are telling him he can end the policy of "birthright citizenship" with an executive order because the so-called "right" isn't a right under the 14th Amendment.
NPR asked Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan if he agreed with the president---Ryan, of course, did not. He said such a move would be "unconstitutional."
He agrees with A/G Ferguson. Besides, Ryan is stepping down at the end of the year---not even running for re-election. Thankfully.
No question this move by the president will trigger lawsuits by the Left, because they strongly advocate for open border policies.
And they are committed, by their own admission, to resisting anything and everything he does.
The constitutional issue.
At issue is this part of the 14th Amendment: "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."
Initially, the 14th Amendment was created in the 1860s to grant citizenship to former slaves. Democrats were objecting to the idea of giving them citizenship.
The Left argues in the NPR piece that the 14th was also intended to give "peace of mind to immigrants," but a careful study reveals that the emphases was on providing for the freed slaves. When read from that view, the president may have a stronger case than the open border liberals think.
The 14th Amendment became law in 1868, as a final act on the part of Republicans to ensure that slaves were extended citizenship and as a final rebuke to the Supreme Court's "Dred Scott" decision, which held that freed slaves were not US citizens.
From the words of the 14th Amendment a policy, which stems from a certain interpretation, has given rise to what the president is calling an "abuse of the immigration system."
While liberals from both political parties are sounding the alarm, preparing to sue the president, etc., Michael Anton, a former national security adviser for Trump, says "there's a clause in the middle of the amendment that people ignore or they misinterpret---'subject of jurisdiction thereof'."
What Anton is saying is "if you are illegal, if you owe allegiance to a foreign nation, if you are a citizen of a foreign nation, that clause does not apply to you."
This issue will not go away quietly.
Is this really that big of an issue?
It is.
Tuesday night, Fox News' Tucker Carlson said this:
Is unlimited birthright citizenship helping this country or is it hurting this country?
Under our current system, illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. and have children are eligible to receive tax credits, food stamps and other welfare benefits. Those are huge incentives. Not surprisingly, one in every 12 births in this country right now is to someone here illegally and that total does not even include birth tourism.
Every year tens of thousands of foreign nationals come to this country on tourist visas solely to give birth to children. The Chinese are strongly overrepresented in this. One ad in China offers "high-end U.S. birth tourism specialists" for just $20,000. These experts navigate clients through the process of having a child in America.
Their kids gain the right to Social Security, Medicare, and countless other federal programs. If they come back to the U.S. for college, they get in-state tuition, federally backed student loans, financial aid, all the benefits that ought to be going to actual Americans who are drowning in college debt. This is a scam. There is no other word for it.
And by the way, don't blame the Chinese or the Russians or the Salvadorans or anybody else using the system. We're the ones offering it. Why wouldn't they take it? The blame lies with us.
No other country would allow itself to be relentlessly exploited like this for decades and no other leadership class would side with foreigners over its own people. And yet ours does every time. And that tells you everything.
I'm reminded of what President Theodore Roosevelt said regarding immigration and allegiance to America:
"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
And as thousands march toward our southern border, with President Trump promising them they "will not enter our country illegally," I'm also reminded of what President Reagan said:
"A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation."Be Informed. Pray for our President. Pray for our country. Vote.