Sen. Russell Pearce (R-AZ): New law is needed because 14th Amendement has been hijacked by illegals

[Amerigo Vespucci]

The author of Arizona's controversial anti-immigrant law has a new target in mind for the fall legislative session: The children of illegal immigrants.

State Sen. Russell Pearce, the primary sponsor of Arizona's new law allowing police to ask for proof of citizenship when they suspect a person is in the country illegally, says he plans to introduce a bill this fall that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal immigrants.

The bill would also require the children of illegal immigrants to pay tuition to attend public schools.

If such a bill were to pass, Arizona would find itself in the midst of a constitutional showdown. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution states that anyone born in the US is a citizen, and that "no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States."

In an interview with Time magazine, Pearce acknowledged that his proposed law would face a constitutional challenge even before it came into force, but argued the law is necessary because undocumented immigrants have "hijacked" the 14th Amendment and are using their US-born children to gain benefits from the US government. That phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "anchor babies."

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0612/arizona-law-target-immigrants-children/

[WeDidIt]

1. This guy is the Nazi piece of shit.

He;s the one that pals around with Nazis.

[RobertPlant]

3. won't be surprised if this guy gets voted out of office

his district is in West Mesa which is closer to Tempe and a lot more democratic voting than the rest of Mesa.

[JonLP24]

5. +100

From a resident of West Mesa. :hi:

[Robeysays]

18. represent west mesa!

:D

[roguevalley]

12. then mccain wouild have to fuck off too. He was born in panama

before the act that made military kids citizens and it wasn't retroactive if I remember correctly. wow. arizona is circling the toilet. how did this state explode in our faces so fast? Makes Alaska seem sane. :)

[azul]

2. Open the 14th amendment for clarification of rights.

That only natural born people have constitutional rights.

Taking away rights from people naturally born in the US is not what the constitution is about, duh.

[nomorenomore08]

4. I don't see how anybody can deny, after this, that the whole "controversy"

boils down to demographics. All these talking points - "national sovereignty," "rule of law," etc. etc. - are just a muddying of the waters. And it pains me to realize how many Democrats and liberals either A) have fallen for the right-wing framing or B) harbor demographic anxiety themselves.

[JonLP24]

6. The guy is a known racist

He was caught forwarding an e-mail from National Alliance to a group of supporters which criticized interracial relationships and Jewish people.

He also wanted to ban universities from allowing students to organize groups based on ethnicity such as Native American Studies for example.

He also endorsed white supremacist J.T. Ready but later claimed that he didn't know that he was one. :eyes:

[pinboy3niner]

15. Bingo!

He, and the racist groups behind anti-immigrant legislation, have learned through experience over the years that it's desirable to conceal outright racist, nativist, and white power movement connections and present a more acceptable "altruistic" public front.

Pearce has close connections to the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and its Immigration Reform Law Institute. From a report last month in the Arizona Republic:


Kris Kobach, the immigration attorney for
the Immigration Reform Law Institute who
helped Pearce craft the law and worked with
him on previous efforts, said SB 1070 is just
the latest piece in a larger effort.

"This law represents turning it up one more
click," Kobach said. "Increase the level a
notch at a time, and people will deport
themselves."


The Southern Poverty Law Center also has reported on these connections and the REAL motivations behind the legislation:

The Teflon Nativists
FAIR Marked by Ties to White Supremacy
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2007/winter/the-teflon-nativists


Also, Rachel Maddow's interview with(and masterful takedown of) FAIR President Dan Stein, with a post-show factcheck, is a MUST-SEE:

Post-Show Factcheck: Dan Stein of FAIR
Thu Apr 29, 2010 10:17 PM EDT
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/04/29/4222854-post-show-factcheck-dan-stein-of-fair

[Catshrink]

19. You beat me to it....

Pearce wants to run for Sheriff after Joe retires - or goes to prison.

[pinboy3niner]

21. I don't get why the investigations of Sheriff Joe are dragging

DoJ needs to send a strong message on racial profiling. Time for an indictment, already.

[treestar]

7. When they want to punish the children this way

It becomes obvious they are racists.

People hung up on how it was "illegal" for the parents to come in are one thing, but if they want to extend the legal disability to the children, they are really racists, period.

[nomorenomore08]

8. +1000

I've seen people on DU, if not outright supporting SB 1070, then at least making excuses/apologies for it. Wonder how they feel about going after the "anchor babies"? :shrug:

[unblock]

9. so would i have to prove that my parents, my grandparents, and my great-grandparents were legal?

i mean, seriously, this is not only insanely bigotted, it's also in direct conflict with the vision of our founders.

[d_r]

10. it is so blatantly unconstitutional

but it makes for good political hay if you are aiming to stir up the racist vote, I guess. Shitheads.

[political_Dem]

11. It is simply sad that this bigot got to see the corridors of power.

Now that this man has had a taste of it, he wants to make sure his contributions to the Fourth Reich will stand the test of time. It is a shame that there are people who voted this piece of garbage in office. He really needs to burn in hell instead.

[David__77]

13. I wonder if any prominent Republicans are former "anchor babies."

This would be good research to conduct.

[Initech]

14. How does this racist piece of shit keep getting elected?

:argh:

[Posteritatis]

16. Because a good chunk of the electorate are also racist pieces of shit. (nt)

[Caliman73]

17. Probably a rhetorical question but...

He plays to the fears of the people in his district. It is much easier for the average or working wage person to scapegoat and direct hatred towards individuals who are weaker and less powerful than to accept that those at the status they wish to achieve are actively working to keep them down. So they hate on immigrants and minorities rather than mobilizing to fight the corporations who hire immigrants and who ship jobs overseas for the sake of profit. This asshole points the finger at the weak so that the sap can feel strong while continuing to feed the system that is keeping them down.

[blondeatlast]

20. It's a gerrymandered district. They chunked off a good bit of Tempe (home of ASU) and

glued that to a heavily retiree and jack Mormon area.