Both the Arizona House of Representatives and Senate have introduced bills seeking to limit the birthright citizenship granted to children born in the U.S. to legal and illegal immigrants. Under the bills, citizenship would only be granted to children born in the U.S. who have at least one parent who is a legal citizen, legal immigrant, active member of the Armed Forces, or a naturalized legal citizen.
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” The Amendment was adopted in 1868 after the U.S. Civil War to provide citizenship for former African-American slaves. The Arizona bills introduced last week seek to have Congresss give permission for Arizona to issue two separate type of birth certificates, based on whether the child meets the new citizenship requirements or not. Opponents claim it will raise issues of “separate but equal” treatment.
