Ex-AG Gonzales: Constitutional Amendment Won’t Solve Immigration Crisis
Some Republicans are supporting a constitutional amendment to combat “birth tourism,” but former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales isn’t one of them.
The proposal is to amend the 14th Amendment that gives automatic citizenship to babies born here, even if the parents are illegal immigrants. Supporters argue the amendment will discourage undocumented mothers from crossing the border just to give birth here.
Gonzales, whose grandparents emigrated from Mexico, argues in a Washington Post op-ed that a constitutional amendment “will not solve our immigration crisis.” People will continue to cross the border to find a better life, he says, irrespective of the possibilities of U.S. citizenship.
Instead, he calls for better enforcement, tougher employer penalties and “a more robust temporary-worker program” to fill jobs for which there aren’t enough American workers.
“In a post-9/11 world, we must know who is coming into this country and why—we cannot have true security if we do not secure our borders,” he writes. “Our policy should reinforce respect for the law through effective enforcement that includes a streamlined deportation process and tougher penalties on employers that hire undocumented workers.”
