more on the 14th Amendment
August 17th 2010 21:27
We are talking about the right of babies who are not born of American citizens to be citizen if they are born in the United States. The debate is based on the 14th amendment and here is the exact wording of section 1;
“Section 1 of the 14th amendment reads “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.”
A lot of this debate is political in nature and I believe examining the wording is the key to this issue. Yesterday we talked about Jurisdiction and today I would like to look at the word reside. This is another key word that we should understand in order to support our thinking about this important topic.
Reside;
1. “To dwell permanently or for a considerable time; to have a settled abode for a time; to abide continuously; to have one's domicile of home; to remain for a long time” [1913 Webster]
2. To have a seat or fixed position; to inhere; to lie or be as in attribute or element. [1913 Webster]
3. To sink; to settle, as sediment. [Obs.]”
So do those who enter our country illegally reside? This is a great question and based on the definitions provided an interesting call. If I look at just the first part of definition 1 which states “to dwell permanently” then I would say no. Why because if I were to dwell permanently then I would be taking a stand, working, supporting and not hiding from people or hoping no one found me to deport me. The fact that I could be deported because I didn’t belong means I am not a permanent resident. The beginning of the Constitution reads “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (Meeks, 2005) ”
The phase that caught my eye re-reading the opening paragraph of the Constitution is “establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility”. Illegal immigrants are not establishing justice because they are breaking the law and from some of the footage that I have seen about the Border Patrol many are not insuring domestic tranquility here in the United States of America.
References
Really Long Link
Really Long Link
Meeks, Edwin (III) (2005) the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, Forte, David, Senior Editor and Matthew Spalding Executive Editor, Regnery Publishing, Inc. Washington DC.
“Section 1 of the 14th amendment reads “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.”
Reside;
1. “To dwell permanently or for a considerable time; to have a settled abode for a time; to abide continuously; to have one's domicile of home; to remain for a long time” [1913 Webster]
2. To have a seat or fixed position; to inhere; to lie or be as in attribute or element. [1913 Webster]
3. To sink; to settle, as sediment. [Obs.]”
So do those who enter our country illegally reside? This is a great question and based on the definitions provided an interesting call. If I look at just the first part of definition 1 which states “to dwell permanently” then I would say no. Why because if I were to dwell permanently then I would be taking a stand, working, supporting and not hiding from people or hoping no one found me to deport me. The fact that I could be deported because I didn’t belong means I am not a permanent resident. The beginning of the Constitution reads “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (Meeks, 2005) ”
References
Really Long Link
Really Long Link
Meeks, Edwin (III) (2005) the Heritage Guide to the Constitution, Forte, David, Senior Editor and Matthew Spalding Executive Editor, Regnery Publishing, Inc. Washington DC.
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