[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 48 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2131-S2132]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. VITTER (for himself, Mr. Paul, Mr. Lee, and Mr. Moran):
  S. 723. A bill to amend section 301 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act to clarify those classes of individuals born in the 
United States who are nationals and citizens of the United

[[Page S2132]]

States at birth; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, America's illegal immigration problem is 
clearly way out of control. We can all agree that we desperately need 
to better protect our borders, ensure that only citizens and legal 
residents can be hired for jobs in this country, and reverse misguided 
policies that serve as a magnet for further illegal immigration.
  Today, I am introducing a bill that falls into that third category, 
to get rid of these magnets that encourage further illegal activity. 
The bill would amend the Immigration and Nationalization Act in order 
to change our current practice of granting automatic citizenship to the 
children of illegal aliens born on American soil. When it comes to U.S. 
citizenship, it is not just where an individual is born that matters, 
at least it should not be. The circumstances of the person's birth and 
the nationality of his or her parents are of at least equal importance. 
I simply do not believe our Constitution confers citizenship on 
children who happen to be born on U.S. soil when both of their parents 
are foreign tourists or illegal aliens. The Constitution does not 
mandate or require that. Yet that is our policy.
  Each year, 300,000 to 400,000 children are born in the United States 
to at least one parent who is an illegal alien or a foreign tourist. A 
significant subset of that number includes children born to two parents 
who are not U.S. citizens--the category my bill attacks. Despite the 
illegal status and foreign citizenship of the parent, the executive 
branch of our government now automatically recognizes these children as 
U.S. citizens upon birth. This practice is not mandated by Federal law 
or the Constitution. It is based on what I believe is a fundamental 
misunderstanding of the 14th amendment of the Constitution. As such, 
this policy is incompatible with both the text and legislative history 
of the citizenship clause. I don't think the 14th amendment grants this 
birthright citizenship to children of illegal aliens. In fact, all we 
have to do is look at history and the actual text of the Constitution 
as our guide.
  The 14th amendment does not say all persons born in the United States 
are citizens, period, end of story. It states that citizenship extends 
to ``all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject 
to the jurisdiction thereof.''
  This latter phrase is important. It is conveniently ignored or 
misconstrued by advocates of birthright citizenship. But, of course, a 
fundamental rule in terms of constitutional interpretation is that 
words are assumed to be there for a purpose. If those words had no 
meaning, had no impact, then the Founders would not have written them 
into that part of the Constitution.
  Its original meaning refers to the political allegiance of an 
individual and the jurisdiction a foreign government has over that 
person. That is why American Indians and their children did not become 
citizens until Congress actually passed the Indian Citizenship Act of 
1924.
  I am introducing today's legislation because it is apparent that 
Congress must reassert its plenary authority over naturalization and 
make clear that ``subject to the jurisdiction thereof'' does not 
include children born in this country to illegal aliens or foreign 
tourists. Those parents are clearly subject to the jurisdiction of 
foreign governments.
  My bill limits birthright citizenship to individuals born in the 
United States to at least one parent who is a legal citizen, a green 
card holder, or an active member of the U.S. Armed Forces. Congress 
clearly has the power to determine that children born in the United 
States to illegal aliens are not subject to American jurisdiction.
  As Judge Richard Posner, of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, 
held in a 2003 case: ``Congress would not be flouting the Constitution 
if it amended the Immigration and Nationality Act to put an end to this 
nonsense.'' That is exactly what my bill would do, put an end to this 
nonsense.
  Closing this loophole will not prevent anyone from becoming a 
naturalized citizen. Instead, it will ensure that he or she has to go 
through the same process as anyone else born of foreign national 
parents who wants to become a U.S. citizen.
  Our practice of birthright citizenship is clearly an incentive to 
illegal immigration. It does a disservice to every would-be citizen who 
is actually following the rules, applying to be naturalized, standing 
in line, often for a very long time.
  This misguided policy of birthright citizenship not only undermines 
the stability of our immigration system, but it has severe fiscal 
consequences as well as serious national security implications. Recent 
news reports have highlighted the growing popularity of what is known 
as birth tourism.
  Web sites actually advertise birth packages for foreign visitors so 
pregnant women can give birth in the United States and ensure automatic 
citizenship, under current practice, for their newborn children. Of 
course, with that automatic citizenship comes the full benefits 
thereof, including unlimited travel to the United States, educational 
benefits, and the ability to settle here as an adult and eventually, 
down the line, the ability to grab back the parents and get them into 
U.S. citizenship.
  One such agency that appeals to foreign mothers to be by describing 
the benefits of American-born children, pointing out that a one-time 
investment in a birth package will result in a lifetime of benefits for 
their family was in the news recently. Specifically, it says: Your 
children will be able to attend U.S. public elementary schools and they 
may apply for scholarships designated for U.S. citizens and they are 
entitled to welfare benefits--all of this explicitly spelled out in the 
advertising for this agency.
  Just last month, authorities in California shut down a makeshift 
maternity clinic after discovering 10 newborns and one dozen Chinese 
women who paid as much as $35,000 to travel to this country to give 
birth to children who would automatically be recognized as U.S. 
citizens.
  Birth tourism, as amazing as this is, is not a new phenomenon, as 
women from other countries have long traveled to the United States 
legally, on tourist or student visas, and given birth while here. 
However, recent reports indicate that the practice is escalating. A new 
report by the Center for Immigration Studies finds that every year 
200,000 children are born to women who were lawfully admitted to the 
United States on a temporary basis.
  Each of these children receive U.S. citizenship, despite their 
mother's allegiance to a different country and even if the father is 
not a U.S. citizen. Birth tourism is certainly a reprehensible 
practice, but it is not an illegal one. It is astounding that the U.S. 
Government allows individuals to exploit the loopholes of our 
immigration system in this manner. It is obvious that Congress has the 
authority and the obligation to put an end to it.
  In addition to this birth tourism--and by that I refer to focusing on 
tourists here legally under a tourist visa. Of course, there are tens 
or hundreds of thousands of children born in this country to two 
illegal immigrant parents, and those children, under the same practice, 
automatically become U.S. citizens.
  This, too, is a very dangerous practice, a magnet to attract more and 
more illegal activity across the border, when we say we want to do 
everything to stop that. Certainly, if we truly want to do everything 
we can to stop that, we need to unplug those magnets, stop that policy 
from attracting more and more illegal crossings across the border.
  So I introduce this important legislation today, and I thank Senators 
Paul and Lee and Moran for joining me in addressing this critical 
issue. I invite all the Members of the Senate to join me in doing this.
                                 ______