Immigration Politics

There are very few sure things in America. One thing you can bet your bottom dollar on, however, is that when politicians make a decision, they have already considered the political implications of that decision. After all, they need public support to get reelected, so it would be political suicide to make a decision that was highly unpopular.

That is currently what's going on in the crazy political world of immigration. It is highly unpopular right now in the Republican ranks to not take a hard-line stance against illegal immigration. The tougher the rhetoric, the happier the tea party types are.

It is no surprise, then, as November elections loom, that heavyweights in the House and Senate this week have been proposing ways to get around the pesky Fourteenth Amendment, which says that anyone born in the U.S. is a U.S. citizen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, said the Senate should "hold hearings" on changing citizenship rules. A House Republican introduced the Birthright Citizenship Act, which has 92 fellow-Republican sponsors. The law would require at least one parent of a child to be a U.S. citizen before the child can also be declared a U.S. citizen.

There's only one problem with that: no law passed by Congress trumps the Constitution. So even if Congress passed that law, it would have absolutely no effect. Do the Republican lawmakers know this? Of course they do, but it's all about looking good for your constituents.

This would be equivalent to Congress deciding that the First Amendment didn't apply to messages on tee shirts. Imagine the law: "The First Amendment shall no longer be construed to provide protection to messages contained on tee shirts." That law, of course, wouldn't see the light of day, but the principle is the same: the Supreme Court is the final decision-maker on the meaning of constitutional provisions. It decides what the First Amendment means, it decides what the Fourteenth Amendment means--not Congress.

If the citizenship law is to be changed, one of two things would have to happen: (1) the Constitution would have to be amended--an extremely arduous task; or (2) the Supreme Court would have to declare that the Fourteenth Amendment means something totally different from what it's meant for the past 100-plus years--also unlikely.

So what are we to do? If you enjoy this stuff like I do, sit back and enjoy it and understand that this is just part of the political game. And the closer election day is, the cheaper the political tactics.