In a letter sent today to all members of Congress, First Focus Campaign for Children urged lawmakers to oppose any and all bills and resolutions that would undermine a child’s right to birthright citizenship as outlined in the U.S. Constitution.
“We urge you to oppose every bill and resolution that would condition an American child’s citizenship on the status, conduct, or paperwork of their parents, and to support the legislation that would protect the constitutional guarantee of the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause that has stood since 1868 and was also the practice of our nation’s since its founding,” the letter said. “This issue is fundamentally about the constitutional rights and protections of babies. Regardless of one’s views on immigration issues, no infant has crossed a border, overstayed a visa, or failed to file paperwork. They are simply born and under the Constitution, as it has been understood for 158 years, that is the only fact that matters. It is a bright-line clear standard.”