This page contains bill sponsorships in the Senate and House.
Bill sponsorships indicate the topics that legislators are most interested in, and spend the most time on.
Bill Sponsorship: Birthright Citizenship Act
Source: H.R.140
Congressional Summary: Acknowledging the right of birthright citizenship established by section 1 of the 14th amendment to the Constitution, amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is:- a U.S. citizen or national;
- a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States; or
- an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.
Constitutional Authority Statement: Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Section 5 of the Amendment XIV to the Constitution and Section 8 of Article I of the Constitution.
OnTheIssues Explanation:The relevant part of this law is what is NOT in the list above: illegal aliens or undocumented workers. Those groups are this bill's target: it addresses the issue of "anchor babies," wherein non-citizen mothers cross the US border and give birth in the US and thereby establish citizenship for their newborn. If passed, this bill will likely face a Supreme Court challenge on its constitutionality, since the 14th Amendment defines citizens as "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." That clause was written after the Civil War to establish citizenship for former slaves; this bill reinterprets that clause to mean that not everyone born in the US automatically becomes a citizen. The cited authorization of the 14th Amendment is "Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article."
Also see the related House of Representatives bill 2013 H.R.140.
Updated to include 2017 version, H.R.140
Participating counts on VoteMatch question 12.
Question 12: Pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens
Scores: -2=Strongly oppose; -1=Oppose; 0=neutral; 1=Support; 2=Strongly support.
- Topic: Immigration
- Headline: Redefine "birthright citizenship" to exclude illegal aliens
(Score: -2)
- Headline 2: Sponsored bill so "birthright citizenship" excludes illegals
(Score: -2)
Participating counts on AmericansElect question 4.
- Headline: Redefine "birthright citizenship" to exclude illegal aliens
(Answer: D)
- Headline 2: Sponsored bill so "birthright citizenship" excludes illegals
(Answer: D)
- AmericansElect Quiz Question 4 on
Immigration:
When you think about illegal immigration, which of the following solutions come closest to your opinion?
- A: All illegal immigrants should be able to stay in the US legally
- B: Most illegal immigrants should be able to stay in the US, with some exceptions
- C: Most illegal immigrants should be deported, with some exceptions
- D: All illegal immigrants should be deported
- E: Unsure
- Key for participation codes:
- Sponsorships: p=sponsored; o=co-sponsored; s=signed
- Memberships: c=chair; m=member; e=endorsed; f=profiled; s=scored
- Resolutions: i=introduced; w=wrote; a=adopted
- Cases: w=wrote; j=joined; d=dissented; c=concurred
- Surveys: '+' supports; '-' opposes.
Democrats
participating in 11-HR140 |
| Ralph Moody Hall |
s1o | Texas Democrat until 2004; now GOP | |
Independents
participating in 11-HR140 |
Total recorded by OnTheIssues:
Democrats:
1
Republicans:
37
Independents:
0 |
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