Yeah, I know – lawbi #18 is supposed to go here, and I believe it’s running in the current issue of Creative Loafing here in the Bay area. But I can’t find it anywhere on CL‘s site just yet, so we’ll skip it for now and I’ll link it when it’s up over there …
So, there’s been a lot of talk lately about anchor babies (20 bucks says that term came from a marketing major) and repealing the 14th Amendment — that’s the one that, among other things, confers automatic citizenship on children born on American soil. And yeah, at its root, it’s exactly the panicked fear-mongering pass-the-buck finger-pointing you suspect it is. In a way, it’s almost admirable in its commitment to absurdity: Hey, unemployed professional, you can’t find work because the Mexicans who do your neighbors’ landscaping have stolen all your government’s money!
But that doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea. Even the cesspool of self-interest that passes for our nation’s legislative tastemakers will occasionally stumble upon something good for the country.
By all means, let’s do away with automatic citizenship.
For everybody.