Republicans Question Birthright Citizenship, But Dems Question Their Motivations

Leading GOP lawmakers are now taking issue with a key provision in a legal breakthrough that the early Republican Party hailed as one its landmark achievements: the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The language that Republican members of Congress want to revisit grants citizenship to persons born in the United States, regardless of the nationality of their parents. Democratic lawmakers and other critics say the GOP is only talking about birthright citizenship to stoke the highly charged immigration debate and turn out conservative voters during a critical midterm election cycle. And this afternoon, Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russell Feingold, who chairs the Constitution Subcommittee, confirmed he has "no plans" to move forward with hearings into the 14th Amendment's citizenship language, echoing his party's case for comprehensive immigration reform, including an eventual path to citizenship for people now in the country illegally.