Letters to the Editor

Amendments to constitution written for slaves not illegals

It is time to reexamine the meaning of the 14th Amendment, which is in the news regarding Due Process of illegal immigrants. Democrat socialists and liberal courts have crucified this portion of our Constitution and interpret its meanings that do not apply to our current situation.

During the Civil War, Congress wrote the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. Our country was divided primarily over slavery and these amendments were written solely to address the situation for slaves.

The 13th Amendment stated slavery or involuntary servitude, “Shall not exist within the United States.”

The 14th Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are U.S citizens and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The 15th Amendment: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”

Keep in mind these amendments were written specifically allowing slaves or involuntary servitude persons the same rights as all of the United States citizens and for no other reason. Democrat socialists, lawyers, judges, courts and even the Supreme Court all say that illegal immigrants fit into these three amendments. The main sentence of the 14th Amendment they all point to is; “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

This sentence was only made with slavery in mind, and not having anything to do with illegal immigrants flooding our country. No such thing has ever happened here. For instance, jurisdiction means the power, right, or authority to interpret and apply the law, the authority of a sovereign power to govern or legislate and the limits of territory within which authority may be exercised. This allows the U.S. to make the rules by which it sees fit, and can expel illegals as warranted.

An illegal alien who has entered the U.S. without permission, does not fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S., but of that person’s country of origin or where they reside. Only when the illegal alien has given up their citizenship of their home country and gone through the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, does that person fall under the jurisdiction of the U.S. and its laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in the past that all aliens who have once passed within the United States, even illegal aliens, may be expelled only with due process of law. The reasoning behind this ruling was that the illegal aliens were “persons” as in the last sentence of the 14th Amendment, which was written for slavery purposes and not illegal aliens. This decision by the court needs to be revisited and changed. By this standard the U.S. will go broke by the mass of court proceedings of lawyers, court rooms, and places to incarcerate those millions needing to be deported.

The U.S. seems to want to go by the jus soli rule, which is birthright of those born on its soil. It is not the case of a diplomat whose baby is born in the U.S., that baby is not by birthright a U.S. citizen and the courts should realize that is the case for all illegal immigrants. Just because they are on U.S. soil and happen to have a child, should not give them the same rights that are only due to U.S. citizens.

The Supreme Court has also suggested that due process may vary upon circumstances and that due process may constrain the federal government’s immigration power. This suggests to me that after we have seen an influx of millions upon millions of illegal immigrants, that a faster more streamlined way must be sought to deal with them, such as simplifying their due process to a process much less expensive and faster than it is for U.S. citizens. The only due process for illegals would be for crimes committed other than illegal entry.

Many women cross our borders either legally or illegally to have a baby for the jus soli rule which our legal system has its basis in the one sentence of the 14th Amendment, “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This one sentence is leading the United States into peril and will be the downfall of America as this mass of illegal immigration will change the demographics of the United States forever. I don’t know of anyone who does not want aliens to come to our country, who apply to be citizens, denounce their old country and swear allegiance to the United States of America and are not a burden to taxpayers.

My grandfather from Denmark had to have a sponsor here in the U.S., who was responsible for him and made sure he worked, had a place to live and was an asset to the United States. Today illegals are given welfare, cell phones, cash, a place to live, all on the burden of taxpayers and also are given the support of Democrat socialists who want nothing more than to change America.

Arnold Breitenbach