The American Bar Association, the organization representing hundreds of thousands of lawyers across the US, passed a resolution this morning urging Congress to pass on any measures to amend the Constitution or other federal laws regarding birthright citizenship. From the Associated Press:
The American Bar Association passed a resolution Tuesday urging the U.S. Congress to reject any changes to the Constitution that would eliminate automatic citizenship for anyone born in the United States.
About 400 members of the attorneys association, which is holding its annual meeting in Toronto, passed the resolution in a voice vote.
Some Republican lawmakers have called for legislation to repeal birthright citizenship and have proposed a constitutional amendment.
Outgoing American Bar Association President Stephen Zack said in an interview that racism is underlying the call to change the constitution. Zack, the first ABA president of Hispanic origin, said it was an important statement by the American Bar Association that the U.S. Constitution must be respected.
"This is something that should be avoided at all costs," Zack said. "Certain issues are not really about what the words are about, but what the underlying concerns are about."
The vote followed a public forum this week that was held at the annual meeting of the ABA in Toronto. I was happy to see my friend Margaret Stock was on the panel.
"If we happened to have jus sanguinis rather than just soli"
Then only Native Americans (ie the Indians) would be citizens.
Posted by: USC | August 14, 2011 at 06:47 AM
The ABA’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities, created by immediate past President Stephen N. Zack—the organization’s first Hispanic-American president, who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba as a young boy—submitted the resolution after “hundreds of public hearings throughout the states to listen to and understand the specific issues facing the Hispanic population,” said Commission Chair Cesar L. Alvarez.
So their position is based on how it affects a particular ethnic population which just happens to be theirs. If we happened to have jus sanguinis rather than just soli, I wonder if we'd instead be hearing that the ABA’s Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities passed a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to change the Constitution so that it would grant automatic citizenship for anyone born in the United States.
Posted by: Jack | August 09, 2011 at 04:07 PM
It did not pass in AZ. It will not even be considered by the US Congress...they simply dont have time and have to focus on the budget. If they get involved in extracurricular activities there are people who are going to be very furious and with the way the things are going (with hate and all) they are only instigating and formenting further hatred and divisions which can well morph into a London like situation.
Posted by: George Chell | August 09, 2011 at 02:51 PM
A raft of immigration laws in Arizona and other states is designed to make life so difficult for illegal immigrants that they pack their bags and head home. But the reality on the border is that departing the country has become more complicated than ever — leading some people to worry that the outbound checks could not only dissuade illegal immigrants from leaving the country but also place them in a kind of no-win limbo, reviled if they stay and potentially arrested if they try to leave.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/us/10border.html
Posted by: gg | August 09, 2011 at 11:59 AM