Opponents attack Arizona state senator’s proposal to crackdown on illegal immigrants’ ‘anchor babies’

“As a general proposition any restriction on the eligibility for citizenship is governed by the Fourteenth Amendment and any restriction would appear to run counter to it,” he said, specifying that he would need to see a bill to offer a full analysis. “But it’s hard for me to imagine a proposal that wouldn’t create some kind of conflict.”

Ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War in 1868, the amendment reads, “All persons, born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.”

While Pearce’s proposal is popular—58 percent of Americans support the idea according to a recent Rasmussen poll—he faces tough criticism from local policymakers. Democratic Arizona State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a fierce opponent to the immigration law passed in April, says Pearce is moving to draft a bill that is in direct violation of 1868 amendment.

“It’s blatantly unconstitutional,” said Sinema, who was a constitutional lawyer before her election to the Arizona House. “The Fourteenth Amendment soundly grants the right of citizenship to children born on American soil.”

Unlike Arizona’s most recent bill, AB1070, Sinema says Pearse’s new proposal won’t pass muster.

“There’s no way this would ever go into effect, and he knows it,” she said.