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Introduction Of The American Citizenship Amendment 13 June 2007 HON. RON PAUL OF TEXAS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2007 Ron Paul 63:1 Mr. PAUL. Madam Speaker, I rise to once again introduce the American Citizenship Amendment. Currently, any person born on American soil can claim American citizenship, regardless of the citizenship of that child’s parents. This means that any non-citizen who happens to give birth in the United States has just given birth to an American citizen, eligible for all the benefits and privileges afforded to citizens. 2007 Ron Paul 63:2 Madam Speaker, this is unacceptable and is far from what our Founders intended when they drafted our Constitution. It undermines the very concept of citizenship as enshrined in the United States Constitution: to be constitutionally entitled to U.S. citizenship one must be “born . . . in the United States” and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” This second, and most important, part means that in order to gain U.S. citizenship one must owe and actively express allegiance to the United States in addition to the act of being born on United States soil. 2007 Ron Paul 63:3 Practically, what the current state of affairs does is cheapen citizenship. Rather than impart all the obligations and responsibilities of being an American, it becomes merely a ticket to welfare and other Federal benefits. The history of the United States is that of immigrants, but previously individuals from diverse backgrounds accepted the obligations of citizenship in exchange for the great benefits of living in the United States as Americans. 2007 Ron Paul 63:4 This proposed constitutional amendment restores the concept of American citizenship to that of our Founders. This legislation simply states that no child born in the United States whose mother and father do not possess citizenship or owe permanent allegiance to the United States shall be a citizen of the United States. It is essential to the future of our constitutional republic that citizenship be something of value, something to be cherished. It cannot be viewed as merely an express train into the welfare state. I hope my colleagues will join me as cosponsors of this legislation.

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