A Current Debate of the Fourteenth Amendment
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The Fourteenth Amendment has come into debate recently within the issue of immigration, and whether people should be granted citizenship by birth. The key terms are "birthright citizenship", which means the right of a person to be a citizen simply by being born in the country, and "derivative citizenship", which means the right of a person to be a citizen based on their parents' status.
In 2010, the GOP wanted to change the part of the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship as a birthright. Mitch McConnell and Whip Jon Kyl have called for hearings to discuss this change, while Senator Lindsey Graham has called for immediate elimination. They say immigration is a stresser on the country's resources. Meanwhile, Democrats argue Republicans were just taking this position to win votes, and we should not be targeting children. Changing the fourteenth amendment would tie politics in with citizenship when citizenship should be simple - if you're born here, you are a citizen. |