All too frequently, so-called "immigrant rights" attorneys are really activists for the interests and falsely claimed rights of illegal immigrants. State policy on college tuition has become a hot issue in this area.
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers was asked for a clarifying opinion on whether children born in Colorado to parents who are illegal aliens can receive the in-state discount on college tuition. He said this week that they can.
It's a fair question. If these students have a birth certificate proving they came into this world in the state of Colorado, under currently interpreted law, they are treated as legal citizens of the United States and residents of the state of Colorado, regardless of their parents unlawful status. As such, they are entitled to hold an American passport. They can vote and run for public office. Consistency seems to require equal treatment for them when it comes to college tuition.
The issue becomes more complicated when dealing with children who weren't born here and who, along with their parents, entered our country unlawfully. That's where I'd draw the line.
While an argument can be made that a college education might help these kids make a greater contribution to society, that point is overwhelmed by other considerations.
College admissions are finite; the number of applicants exceeds the number of openings. Subsidized college admissions are even more limited. Any tuition subsidy that goes to an illegal resident is one that will be denied to a legal one. This isn't fair. Moreover, it rewards lawbreaking in the form of illegal immigration and encourages more of it in the future.
Before I'd grant a subsidy to an illegal alien, I'd give one to a legal citizen of another state. Illegal aliens who can't afford the tuition at the University of Colorado at Boulder without an in-state subsidy can still enroll in a less-expensive community college or return to their own country for a college education.
Now, let me return to the question of children born in this country to illegal alien parents. That raises the bigger issue of "birthright citizenship." I said earlier that they're treated as U.S. citizens under currently interpreted law. But this interpretation of the 14th Amendment is in dispute.
The amendment, written in 1866 and ratified in 1868, was all about slavery and the Civil War. Section 1 made it clear that former slaves were now citizens of the United States and protected by the Constitution. When it referred to persons born in the United States and "subject to the jurisdiction thereof," those words meant that these were persons who owed no allegiance to another country. That is, they were not citizens of another country or children of citizens of another country.
Also in 1866, that same Congress passed a civil rights law restricting American citizenship to those born here "and not subject to any foreign power." Rep. John Bingham of Ohio, the author of the 14th Amendment, confirmed "that every human being born within the jurisdiction of the United States of parents not owing allegiance to any foreign sovereignty is, in the language of your Constitution itself, a natural-born citizen."
In 1862, U.S. Attorney General Edward Bates declared, "The Constitution does not make a citizen, it is in fact made by them." That is, for a child to be born a U.S. citizen, he must be born to a U.S. citizen, not an alien - legal or illegal. That's why children born in the United States to foreign diplomats are not regarded as U.S. citizens.
It's time to challenge the expanded notion of birthright citizenship in court or address it with legislation. It may be reasonable to grandfather those who have been treated as citizens under the current interpretation, but any immigration reform policy should include a more restrictive definition of American citizenship in the future.
Mike Rosen
It's time to challenge the expanded notion of birthright citizenship.
Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA. He can be reached by e-mail at mikerosen@850koa.com.
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