Defending the Fourteenth Amendment: A Resource Page

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution—the cornerstone of American civil rights—affirms that, with very few exceptions, all persons born in the U.S. are U.S. citizens, regardless of their parents' citizenship. Restrictionist groups and legislators have persisted in their attempts to restrict or repeal birthright citizenship in State Houses and the U.S. Congress. Over the years, several bills have been introduced that would deny U.S. citizenship to children whose parents are in the U.S. illegally or on temporary visas. 

Basic Facts on Birthright Citizenship:

• Ending Birthright Citizenship Would Not Stop Illegal Immigration (June 2010)
• Constitutional Citizenship: A Legislative History (March 2011)
• Papers Please: Eliminating Birthright Citizenship Would Affect Everyone (January 2011)
• Eliminating Birthright Citizenship Would Not Solve the Problem of Unauthorized Immigration (January 2011)
• Pew Report Sheds Little Light on Birthright Citizenship (August 2010)

Policy Experts, Scholars Weigh In:

• Listen to Michele Waslin (Immigration Policy Center). Margaret Stock (Attorney and Retired Lieutenant Colonel, Military Police Corps, US Army Reserve), Elizabeth Wydra (Constitutional Accountability Center), Eric Ward (Center for New Community), and Bill Ong Hing (University of San Francisco School of Law) discuss the 14th Amendment and Birthright Citizenship.

• Made in America: Myths & Facts about Birthright Citizenship (September 2009)

• Defining “American": Birthright Citizenship and the Original Understanding of the 14th Amendment by James C. Ho
• Debunking Modern Arguments Against Birthright Citizenship by Elizabeth Wydra
• New Nativism: Anti-Immigration Politics and the Fourteenth Amendment by Eric Ward
• Policy Arguments in Favor of Retaining America’s Birthright Citizenship Law by Margaret Stock

Listen to the "Made in America" Telebriefing:

Further Reading:

• Senators Graham and Kyl Buy Tickets to the Birthright Citizenship Dog and Pony Show (August 2010)
• Ending Birthright Citizenship Won’t Solve Our Immigration Problems (June 2010)
• An Anti-Immigrant Hate-Fest on Capitol Hill (September 2009)
• Birthright Citizenship: Myths, Facts and Why It Matters (September 2009)
• Old Anti-Immigrant Ideas, Even Bad Ones, Die Hard (July 2009)
• Read all Birthright Citizenship Blog Posts on Immigration Impact

Published On: Mon, Aug 02, 2010