GOP’s Birthright Crusade Stalls

So much for that. A group of prominent conservative senators made waves last week when they suggested a review of the 14th Amendment’s birthright clause, which grants citizenship to children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S. Top GOP members including John McCain and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham came out in support of a possible repeal, and the party’s leadership agreed, citing the rise of “birthright tourism.” The problem they have run into, however, is that there is no widespread political will to do the heavy lifting to amend the Constitution. “The energy spent on ending birthright citizenship might be better spent reducing illegal immigration,” said a policy analyst at the Center for Immigration Studies. Pragmatic or not, it’s likely that McCain and Graham’s hard stance will help them rally their conservative base.