A Pound of Thoughts

Per the Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1:

Section. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Notice the phrase “…and subject to the jurisdiction thereof…”  That is a very important qualifier.  A baby born in the United States to an illegal immigrant is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.  Why not?  Because their parents have not sworn allegiance to the United States, and have not expatriated themselves from their home country (Mexico, for example).  A lot of people and politicians have forgotten this.

For the complete breakdown and correct interpretation, See this article.

UPDATE (5:13 p.m.):  The House gave final passage to the bill, voting 111-8 in favor of it.  Now it goes to the Governor’s desk.  It also requires that an online database be kept and employers use it to determine if their potential employees are actually U.S. citizens.  Click here for the updated article.

The Mississippi House of Representatives passed a Senate bill this morning that would require a U.S. citizenship check by employers for new employees.

Per the Sun Herald:

The bill could come up for debate in the House this afternoon, and if it passes there, would wind up on Gov. Haley Barbour’s desk to be signed into law. Sen. Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula, who was elected last fall, authored the bill.

“I’m extremely excited that the Judiciary B committee in the House has decided to allow the full House to debate this bill on its merits,” Watson said in a news release. “Hopefully, this is the first step in the right direction in curbing the illegal immigration problems our state and our nation are facing.”

Way to go!  I’m extremely proud of our lawmakers.  Now maybe the rest of the nation will follow suit.

I’ll keep you updated on the progress of the bill.