Leo Berman (R-Tyler) wants to pick a fight with the 14th Amendment.
His bill is specifically designed to provoke a legal dispute that could wind up in the Supreme Court forcing it to decide whether the 14th Amendment requires that the children of illegal immigrants be granted citizenship if born on U.S. soil:
State Rep. Leo Berman ramped up his support today for a proposal that would challenge the concept of birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants with the hopes that passage of such a measure would trigger a federal lawsuit.
Speaking to a group of about 20 members of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps., Berman said if his proposal to prohibit automatic citizenship for U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants passes it would undoubtedly spark a court fight that he hopes lands in the U.S. Supreme Court.
"That's exactly what we're looking for," said Berman, R-Tyler. "We want to be sued into federal court where our attorney general can take this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court."
Berman's argument is based on the notion that the 14th Amendment, which says all persons born in the U.S. shall be granted citizenship, does not "apply to foreigners."
"We hope that at some point and time some judge will say 'you're absolutely right. It doesn't apply to illegal aliens,'" Berman said.
