Introducing The Birthright Citizenship Act of 2015

Before too long we will be looking at Congress and the bill making process. When we do, we'll notice that the Constitution says very little about how bills become laws, so the process has changed over time. We will also point out that the cumbersome nature of the process makes it very difficult for bills to actually become laws. Most get bogged down in committee.

That may or may not be the fate of this law, but it's a good look at how one man proposes to change existing law to cut back on birthright citizenship. This was introduced in the House of Representatives on January 6, 2015 by Steve King who represents the 4th District of Iowa. It was referred to the Judiciary Committee, which then sent it to the Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security.

- Click here for H.R 140 - The Birthright Citizenship Act.

Here's a description of the bill:

Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is: (1) a U.S. citizen or national, (2) a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States, or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

States that this Act shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born before the date of its enactment.

Since you are probably not familiar with the Immigration and Nationality Act, click here to catch up on it. The purpose of the bill seems to be to change birthright citizenship from being based on Jus Soli to Jus Sanguinis.

If anything happens to it, you'll hear about it here.