Times Have Changed: The GOP on the 14th Amendment

By Susan Davis

A growing chorus of congressional Republicans is calling for a review of the birthright citizenship protection provided by the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

But, as Politico first noted today, the Republican Party is at the same time still touting itself as the party of the 14th Amendment on its official website.

In a time-line that trumpets the party’s accomplishments in U.S. history, passage of the 14th Amendment is listed on the GOP site and notes that “all votes in favor of the 14th Amendment were from Republicans, and all votes against it were from Democrats.”

The 14th Amendment was enacted to ensure civil rights to slaves, but in modern times it also applies to the children born to illegal immigrants residing in the United States.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said last week that he could offer a constitutional amendment to end birthright citizenship, which he called “a mistake” and that the Constitution should be changed to reflect that “if you come here illegally and you have a child, that child’s automatically not a citizen.”

Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the issue, said in a statement today that he had no plans to do so.

“We can and should address the problem of illegal immigration head-on without amending the Constitution,” he told TPM, adding that the Senate needs to work on reforming immigration laws