It's a testy point, but I think Meyerson has made it. I found this column engaging.

I think the premise is wrong. I never heard anyone talk about revoking the citizenship of a citizen. A change to the birthright clause wouldn't be retroactive. Race/slavery keep getting thrown into this debate and I find it nothing but race baiting from the left. The left keeps saying comprohensive immigration reform what they mean is amnisty. Unless the left is willing to seriously consider things that will secure the border and stop illegal immigrants from coming like stopping anchor babies than a iimmigration compromise seems impossible. Latinos will vote democratic because Dems think Latinos only care about immigration and they are lock step for an open border. Stereotyping all latinos that way is demeaning to latinos.

The article is insightful and provocative. This is the first time I have seen the electoral reasons for republican immigration inflamation so clearly laid out.

An op-ed peeling back the veneer of vilification thrown up by the screaming right wing bogeyman machine. The articles speculates about the real whys behind right winger opposition; that is, advocating throwing millions of illegal Latinos out of the country and additionally keeping America “pure” by denying offspring of “foreigners” United States citizenship. Although well reasoned and more accurate than right winger are willing to admit, there’s an undercurrent of outrage and indignation throughout the article.

I can recommend this story only as an example of deficient logic and poor writing. Meyerson's post-Civil War analogy is especially specious, and his "stretched" version of suggested 14th amendment revisions is downright misleading. The author reveals his extreme bias when he describes Arizona's recent anti-illegal-immigration legislation as a "Suspicious-Looking-Latinos law," despite the fact that this legislation makes a special point of forbidding racial or ethnic profiling. Only the demographic information contained in this article is legitimate.

It is analysis, not news. But the point about Lincoln and the ex-Confederates is powerful and relevant.

Mr Meyerson has proven once again " those who don't learn from history are bound to repeat it. Historically "Latinos" have slightly favored the GOP. What is a "Latino"? Someone of Latin heritage? Of native american heritage? A mixture of both? None of these are true. "Latino" is a box checked on a form. Most of the Americans I know [including myself] that that fit in one of the groups mentioned don't check the "Latino" box but either the White or none of your damned business box. At times when a term [Latino] is used to define a point of view it would stand to reason people that define themselves by that term as a rule would agree.

Politicians, "Pundant's" and Media that state that anchor babies increase the chance of their parents citizenship is absolutely "False." This is another ridiculous statement by those who wish to create hatred for our brothers and sisters of Hispanic origin and to divide the races. We have to stop listening to this hate speech and start finding and supporting ways that we can live and thrive together. Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! – Statue of Liberty

No; it misrepresents the facts and the research is inadequate. The 14th Amendment does not need nor should be changed. Any good Constitutional lawyer can explain "jurisdiction" an integral part of the Section on "born in... and under the jurisdiction of" the United States." The linking word is “and” not “or.” A vital difference in American English. Offspring of alien parents are the same citizenship as the parents until adulthood at which time they seek Naturalization, if they wish, themselves. This was included for the protection of American citizens who have babies while abroad, but it is not a one-way street. The issue is Jurisdiction! Not geography. America does not over-ride the laws of foreign nations when ... More »