Controversy over Birthright Citizenship

Donald Trump’s entrance into the Presidential campaign has turned the world of career politicians, and the lobbyists who support their campaigns, upside down and inside out. At the root of their consternation is immigration, a topic that most politicians and journalists have tried their best to avoid and the issue that Trump has focused on with laser-like intensity.
 
Immigration has a profound impact on virtually every challenge and threat our nation faces today. Yet, most politicians in an effort to satisfy their deep-pocketed campaign contributors have invoked lame excuses for not enforcing our immigration laws and for downplaying just how significant the various components of the immigration system are to a host of issues, including national security, public safety, the economy, unemployment, education, the environment, public health and healthcare, to name the most significant challenges.
 
However, even Americans who may not have understood the significance of immigration now know that they have been lied to by politicians from both parties.

Consider the claim made by so many politicians that once the U.S.-Mexican border is secure, we should provide unknown millions of illegal aliens with lawful status and official identity documents. I addressed this intentionally misleading claim in a July 6, 2014, article for FrontPage Magazine, “Border Security and the Immigration Colander » Why the breakdown of the Southwest border is only the tip of the iceberg.”
 
Trump has recently raised another aspect of immigration with so-called “Anchor Babies.” Under the current interpretation of the 14^th Amendment of the Constitution, a child born in the United States, irrespective of the immigration status of his/her parents, acquires U.S. citizenship at birth.
 
The only exception involves children born to diplomats. When that child turns 21 years of age, he/she may then file a petition to provide his/her parents and all siblings, including their spouses and minor children, with lawful immigrant status. Because of this, such children have come to be referred to as “anchor babies,” in that they provide an “anchor” for the rest of the family to ultimately gain lawful immigrant status in the U.S.
 
Trump has spoken extensively about how Mexican women have given birth to their children in the U.S. to gain lawful immigrant status here. However, the tactic of having children in the U.S. in order to subsequently gain immigrant status is not limited to citizens of Mexico or even Latin America.
 
On March 9, 2015, local NYC newspaper Voices of NY published “Investigating New York’s Chinese ‘Maternity Hotels.’” An editor’s note included in the article provides a clear overview of this issue:

Chinese-run ‘maternity hotels,’ which provide comprehensive services to maternity tourists from China, have caused more and more controversy in recent years. Doing business in a largely unregulated area, these maternity hotels are questioned for their practices such as tax evasion, training potential clients to lie to the visa officers and getting Medicaid with false documents for clients who are not eligible.
 
Federal law enforcement raided a few dozen locations of these businesses in Southern California on March 3 in one of the largest operations in recent years. It immediately became a hot topic in the Chinese community in New York where such businesses are also common.

 
For years the open borders advocates have played the “compassion card” with great success, hoodwinking and intimidating decent Americans into believing that permitting foreign nationals to take unfair advantage of America’s kindness and generosity is consistent with our values.
 
Being played for fools is certainly not consistent with our values. My dad taught me that I would instruct others as to how I wanted to be treated by being crystal clear as to what I was willing to accept. Americans must learn that vital lesson. Charity must begin at home.
 
It is time for America to show compassion for its own citizens in the same way that responsible parents put their children’s best interests first.