14th Amendment should remain as is

Amongst the recent debates on immigration reform, one of the most recent issues has touched on a fundamental principle of our country and perhaps one of the bedrock tenets that make us so great as a nation.

The citizenship clause, a part of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, provides citizenship and due process of law to anyone born in the U.S. One read of the citizenship clause would be enough for most people to understand its importance and significance to our diverse country; for some, however, this clause is viewed as flawed no matter how many times they read or contemplate it.

First we must consider this clause and why it was written back in 1868.

The 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution during Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency. After the Civil War ended and within the five years immediately following, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were written and ratified.

The great importance of the 14th Amendment is what was symbolized then, which represents how we should view it now. The Amendment was written at a time when our nation was overcoming its ugly history of slavery and lack of liberty for those who were considered indentured servants.

The greatness of the 14th Amendment was that it overruled the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford. In the decision of said case, anyone of African descent was unable to obtain any civil liberties or rights, despite whether or not they were slaves. The 14th Amendment was written to correct this horrendous part of our nation’s history; moreover, it represented a change in direction for our maturing country.

Since then, the 14th Amendment has protected many people — especially children — who benefited from the arduous work of their parents or families. The instant someone is born on American soil, they gain citizenship despite where their family came from or how their parents got to America. This issue goes all the way to the heart of what it means to be an American.

If we never achieved this progress, which was hastened by this amendment, America would surely not be the country that it is today — one that exemplifies diversity, freedom, hope and greatness.

To attack the 14th Amendment now is to spit in the face of our country’s development and how it has progressed.

The problems with current immigration law have nothing whatsoever to do with the said Amendment and can be solved without touching this part of our Constitution. We need to focus instead on the real battles, such as barriers to legal entry, neighboring countries’ civil wars and countries that struggle internally with persisting crimes to humanity.

At the instance of birth, it seems unfathomable that anyone could be considered illegal or devoid of the liberties that everyone else enjoys.

The liberties and rights that we are granted as Americans are as priceless as the births that take place in hospitals throughout our country. Editing or deleting the 14th Amendment now because of immigration problems from our nation’s borders would only show that our Constitution is not as strong as we should all hope it to be.

Andrew Taylor is an economics senior and may be reached at [email protected]