Recently, Sen. Lindsay Graham and several other Republican Senators have been stirring the anti-immigrant cauldron with talks of revising the U.S Constitution–something that has been done just 27 times in its 223 years of existence. Some of these amendments include: The Bill of Rights, abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, and establishing 18 as the minimum age to vote.
Sen. Graham and his posse seek to revise the 14th Amendment, which guarantees birthright citizenship to those born on U.S territory. Their short-sighted and morally bankrupt efforts are at best, ill-informed, and at worst fanning the flames of bigotry and intolerance that currently saturate cable news and that lead to racist laws like SB 1070 in Arizona.
These Senators are perhaps hoping that if they say that immigrants are “swimming across the river to have a child” enough that it will actually become a fact. They are panning to the segment of the population that believes in the rule of law, but they are misinforming those individuals and anyone that take them at their word. Yes–we believe in the rule of law as a nation, but we also believe in fairness and truth–something that is missing in the current immigration drama playing out in the media.
It is extremely disappointing to see Senator Graham and the other Senators wasting time and efforts on scapegoating brown people, especially in the midst of this intensely anti-immigrant climate, rather than engaging in actual conversations and actions in Congress that may lead to Comprehensive Immigration Reform, including the DREAM Act and AgJobs. With each additional Senator jumping on the anti-American values bandwagon, the devastation as a result of our broken immigration system deepens in our communities as families continue to be unjustly separated.
Illegal immigration exists for many reasons, including failed trade policies like NAFTA, as well as desperate economic strife across the globe. Mexico is the lone developing nation bordering a world “superpower”. Illegal immigration from that country will continue for as long as there is vast needs on one side of the border and opportunities on the other side.
Let’s not kid ourselves here–this is not an issue about birthright citizenship being an “incentive for illegal immigration.” This is an issue about politicians making a desperate attempt for re-election, while spewing lies and half-truths about an issue that merits serious conversations and urgent action. We need Congress to take action on passing fair and humane Comprehensive Immigration Reform now and we need to call out Sen. Graham and his posse on their lies that will only deepen the divide that already exists across our nation.
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