[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 13, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1279-E1280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           INTRODUCTION OF THE AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP AMENDMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 13, 2007

  Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise to once again introduce the American 
Citizenship Amendment. Currently, any person born on American soil can 
claim American citizenship, regardless of the citizenship of that 
child's parents. This means that any non-citizen who happens to give 
birth in the United States has just given birth to an American citizen, 
eligible for all the benefits and privileges afforded to citizens.
  Madam Speaker, this is unacceptable and is far from what our Founders 
intended when they drafted our Constitution. It undermines the very 
concept of citizenship as enshrined in the United States Constitution: 
to be constitutionally entitled to U.S. citizenship one must be ``born 
. . . in the United States'' and ``subject to the jurisdiction 
thereof.'' This second, and most important, part means that in order to 
gain U.S. citizenship one must owe and actively express allegiance to 
the United States in addition to the act of being born on United States 
soil.
  Practically, what the current state of affairs does is cheapen 
citizenship. Rather than impart all the obligations and 
responsibilities of being an American, it becomes merely a ticket to 
welfare and other Federal benefits. The history of the United States is 
that of immigrants, but previously individuals from diverse backgrounds 
accepted the obligations of citizenship in exchange for the great 
benefits of living in the United States as Americans.
  This proposed constitutional amendment restores the concept of 
American citizenship to that of our Founders. This legislation simply 
states that no child born in the United States whose mother and father 
do not possess citizenship or owe permanent allegiance to the United 
States shall be a citizen of the United States. It is essential to the 
future of our constitutional republic that citizenship be something of 
value, something to be cherished. It

[[Page E1280]]

cannot be viewed as merely an express train into the welfare state. I 
hope my colleagues will join me as cosponsors of this legislation.

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