There they go again.
This afternoon, House Republicans will yet hold another anti-immigrant hearing, this time focused on ending Birthright Citizenship, a bedrock American principle.
As the Alliance For Citizenship notes, “such a move would radically reinterpret the Constitution to end a fundamental American right and bring the Department of Homeland Security into delivery rooms nationwide.”
Naturally, the proposal is being pushed by two of the most virulently anti-immigrant voices in Congress today: Steve King in the House, and David Vitter in the Senate.
In response, members of Congress, including Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Rep. Ruben Gallego, and Rep. Maxine Waters, along with civil rights leaders from the NAACP and NCLR, held a press conference slamming this GOP proposal to turn the US-born children of immigrants into second class citizens:
.@RepGutierrez Repealing birthright citizenship is the “latest in a long stream of anti-immigrant proposals.”
— Philip Wolgin (@pwolgin) April 29, 2015
.@RepRubenGallego: GOP hearing on ending Birthright Citizenship “harkens back to the bad days” of Arizona’s SB 1070.
— America’s Voice (@americasvoice) April 29, 2015
.@RepRubenGallego calls out GOP hypocrisy. GOP tells one grp in Spanish they’re for immig reform, then they call for extremist hearings.
— America’s Voice (@americasvoice) April 29, 2015
.@RepAlGreen “If [the 14th amdmt] was good enough for our forefathers, it is good enough for our fathers and mothers.” #immigration
— Philip Wolgin (@pwolgin) April 29, 2015
.@RepAlGreen :”I stand for the 14th amendment, which was passed to protect my ancestors” #Birthright #Citizenship pic.twitter.com/8t8Lf7hqph
— Alliance4Citizenship (@Citizenship4All) April 29, 2015
.@RepRubenGallego: “attacks on #birthright #Citizenship only meant to feed xenophobic, anti immigrant fringe of GOP” pic.twitter.com/34rKWmSSnl
— Alliance4Citizenship (@Citizenship4All) April 29, 2015
Additionally, the Alliance for Citizenship also released a new report, “The 2015 Mass Deportation Agenda,” detailing how this current GOP Congress has become the most anti-immigrant Congress yet.
As Ron Brownstein notes, in a sadly ironic twist of fate, today’s anti-immigrant hearing comes on the same day 2016 candidate Jeb Bush will speak to a Latino group.
Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that Bush commented he lives “the immigrant experience.” But earlier this month, Bush endorsed and attended a fundraiser for Vitter, one of the main proponents of ending Birthright Citizenship.
As Rep. Joe Crowley noted at the press conference earlier today, this latest radical GOP proposal isn’t just “anti-immigration, it’s anti-immigrant. It’s personal.”
