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Arguments Against The 14 Amendment

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Immigration has become a very controversial topic that no one can stop talking about. From President Barack Obama’s Immigration Reform to potential 2016 presidential candidates, everyone is looking at different ways to amend our broken immigration system. Almost everyone agrees that we need tighter border control and there needs to be more regulations to prevent the hiring of illegal immigrants. Not everyone is sure what should be decided about immigrant parents, who are not American citizens, and their American born children. This topic has left people questioning the 14th Amendment and “birthright citizenship.” While some people have no tolerance for these children and want them out, others have thought of better solutions that keep the …show more content…

There has been a lot of argument whether the amendment should apply to children of illegal aliens. When the 14 amendment was created it was to ensure citizenship for African Americans. There had been no illegal immigration at the time so there was no need to include anything about that. One of the earliest of cases taken up by the Supreme Court that questioned the 14 Amendment would be U.S v Wong Kim Ark. This case, dated in 1898, was about Wong Kim Ark who was born in San Francisco, California. His parents were Chinese and were residents of the United States but not citizens. The family returned to China but Wong chose to live in America. Once, Wong decided to go visit his parents in China and upon returning he was denied re-entry. The Supreme Court would rule that Wong Kim Ark was in fact an American citizenship due to birthright. Some people want to argue that Congress needs to pass a bill that limits the granting of citizenship. Others believe that the 14 Amendment is what this country is based off of and no one can take it …show more content…

They argue that people come to America with plans of having what is called an anchor baby. An anchor baby not only receives American citizenship, but also means that the babies parents can stay here as well. Plus, once the child turns twenty-one, they can become a sponsor for the rest of the family to come to America. Another belief in people that want to take away birthright citizenship is that taxpayer’s money is being wasted on these families. People do not like the idea of paying for these children’s education because their parents are here illegally. The parents of these children do not have to pay taxes because they are not residents of America, but that does not stop them from using up public resources. The families still use hospitals and school without having to pay basic taxes. Non- residents that are charged with crimes get to go to a prison that they never paid for. “In just California alone, non-residents, make up nearly 30% of prisons, costing California over a billion dollars annually in incarceration.” Drug crime increases along with the rising number of illegal immigrants. Mexico’s drug cartels are now overflowing into the southwest states. People do not like what these aliens are doing. They definitely do not like the idea of a couple receiving permission to stay in America because they simply had a child. The people that want to prevent

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