I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Laura .. why do you think 'you' will succeed in repealing the 14th? Beyond wishful thinking, do you seriously believe the 14th will be amended?

I doubt it very much.

Bren

Rosemary .. I think it's pretty cool that the Church is being so progressive.

hugs,

Bren

Yes Bren, I do think it will be repealed. It's origin back in 1868 was intended for the slaves. In today's society, it makes no sense. A vast majority of those who fall into the category of the 14th amendment, are born to ILLEGAL immigrants. Many who are fighting for its repeal believe that the word ILLEGAL means ILLEGAL. Senator John Kyl (AZ) is leading the way. And what a great leader he is. We will get it repealed...no doubt!

AZ has a long way to go before the issue would even go before the high court.  The bill is still in the committee phase in AZ.  To pass the bill would be unconstitutional in AZ.  It's an end run to get to the high court sooner than later through regular legal channels.

Bren

Medigal - You are so right. The 14th has been grossly taken advantage of. I am very confident that it will be repealed. We are working very hard to pressure our reps to vote in favor of a repeal.   

A line from the song ... "It was a time when strangers were welcome here."

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Thanks Ann for posting.  That is precisely why I don't believe the 14th will be repealed.  It will never pass the Senate.

AZ's bill (which is still in the committee stage) is unconstitutional.  A state does not have the right to repeal an amendment.

Bren

The original "immigration" law of 1770 only applied to free white men that had good moral character and established a two year residency requirement to become a citizen.  All "immigration" laws from that time until 1952 were basic on racist, xenophobic bias.  The Amendment in 1870 naturalized African Americans,but Asians were excluded. 1882 saw further restrictions on the Chinese.  Not only were they not allowed to immigrate, they were restricted on travel, even if they were born here.  If they chose to travel outside the US to visit family in China, in all probability they would not have been allowed to return.  It was not until 1943 that the restrictions on the Chinese were lifted.  The Japanese govt. had an agreement with the US that they would not grant passports to the US, but circumvented that agreement by issueing passports to Hawaii.  Indians were classified as non-white and not allowed to immigrate in 1923.

Restrictions due to disease or being a "lunatic" were established in 1882, "Anarchists" were disallowed in 1901, and a literacy requirement was added in 1917.  Even in 1952 when the issue of race was removed from the restructuring of the act, quotas gave preference to citizens of Ireland, the UK, and Germany, so yet again, giving preference to those that fit the white Anglo-Saxon profile that so many embraced.  There really was no such thing as formal immigration until the Act of 1921, so most of us are the descendents of immigrants that by today's standards would be considered "illegal". Other than establishing residency within a state, all of these laws and amendments were considered federal jurisdiction, so I can't see how a state can be successful altering federal immigration law.

There is no doubt that immigration needs to be addressed, but I do not at all agree with what Arizona is trying to do.  There are many innocent brilliant young individuals living here who were brought here, or born here, due to no fault of their own.  They have been educated here, love this country as their own, and have the potential to make great contributions. I hate to see any law established that is going to lead to further racial profiling.  What if Daniel Hernandez was an illegal citizen, would you be demanding his exportation?  I imagine that there are many young Hispanics that are looking up to him as a hero, and wanting their own opportunity to live the American dream.  I absolutely hate that we seem to be going backwards in this country to a racist and xenophobic society.  Under the quotas and other restrictions, my grandparents, and many of yours, would likely not have been allowed to come here.

In times of need, charity begins at home.

3monstmama, I love you!!!

"If they were decent people, they would have just grabbed their binky and hitched a ride home to whereever on the other side of that darned border as soon as they could walk, darn them.  But NOOOOOOOOO, they just sit around sucking up resources, trying to pay taxes and serve in the military."

And RiverRat, again you said exactly what I was thinking!

There really was no such thing as formal immigration until the Act of 1921, so most of us are the descendents of immigrants that by today's standards would be considered "illegal".

When my ancestors came here -- all before 1921, from Sweden, England, Ireland and Germany -- they just came.  Because they were Northern European, nobody bothered them.  But they didn't go through any kind of clearance with any kind of immigrations officials or anything.  They just booked their passage, and claimed land... or in the case of my great-grandmother from Sweden, took a job as a live-in maid at the age of 14 with a railroad executive in Minneapolis.

What part of ILLEGAL do you not understand? ILLEGAL IS ILLEGAL. Do you condone anarchy? Help me!

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After reading many of the comments here, I was just thinkin.......repeal of the 19th amendment might not be all that bad of an idea

BarbaraA- Here's hoping th egood news keeps coming for your brother.

Ellie- HOw cool for your Mom and all of you!@ 18 years! And Moms are allowed to be cranky- hell, they put up with us. My mom is my best friend, no lie...right before BC I as arranging for her to live with us...thank god my sister stepped in and now Mom is there...for now..I still want her here. She and I speak the same language of the heart and now that she is having some of the crappy dementia bs, I want to do everything I can. I understand what she is saying when she says the wrong word. We crack up over it. Less pressure means she relaxes more. I spent New Year's Day with her- the pic below is in the Katz's deli- a really cool place and of course she was the center of attention...never ceases to amaze me (and yes, we are in the john but I wanted a pic of the two of us:)