Give it a rest, Arizona

Just when you think Arizona can't get any nuttier, well, another day brings another stupid proposed bill.  This time, some Arizona legislators want to pass a law that would deny birth certificates to children of illegal immigrants.  Proponents of the legislation claim that so-called "anchor babies" were not intended to be covered by the birthright citizenship clause.  Opponents, of course, respond that under federal law, "anchor babies" are U.S. citizens no matter what Arizona wants, so this bill is a worthless exercise that solves absolutely nothing and would easily be struck down as unconstitutional.  Really, the U.S. Supreme Court has been pretty clear on this point for a long, long time.  The "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" clause in the 14th Amendment doesn't exempt children of illegal immigrants; it exempts children of diplomats and foreign soldiers.

I can't help but notice that the only proponent of the bill mentioned in the article is a Republican.  The article also notes that "Arizona Republicans" are expected to introduce the bill in the fall.  Isn't the Republican Party supposed to be the party that wants limited government and to eliminate waste?  What is more wasteful than taking up valuable legislative time with debate over a bill that cannot possibly survive a court challenge? 

How hard is it to understand that no state can alter U.S. citizenship rights as granted by the U.S. Constitution?  Passing a silly bill that would prohibit the state from issuing birth certificates would not in any way, shape, or form change the fact that any baby born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen.  But it sure would waste a lot of state resources as all the parents or guardians of those U.S. citizens would have to go to court to protect the rights of those infants.