Immigration: Socialist Steve Lister Charge Republicans Attacking 14th Amendment

Stephen Clarke
SP-California
Staff Writer

Within the past four years, Republicans have been gaining support in Congress to end the automatic citizenship of children born to undocumented immigrant parents; now, these Republican are proposing a constitutional amendment to prevent the children of undocumented immigrants to having the right of U.S. citizenship.

Steve Lister, with the Socialist Party of California says, “The rallying cry of Republicans to amend the Constitution to prevent the right of citizenship to children born here harkens back to the days when former Confederate states stood in opposition to citizenship for freed slaves and Indians.” Steve Lister is the San Diego County Local Chair for the Socialist Party.

Since 2005, Republicans members of Congress have used immigration and border issues as a political football to gain conservative votes during elections. Steve Lister says “congressional Republicans have sunk to lower lows to rob children of their constitutional rights, birth rights and human rights.”

Following the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. The 14th Amendment was drafted with the intent of granting newly freed slaves full citizenship. The right of citizenship was also questioned in the late 1800s granting citizenship to American Indians. Steve Lister says “Congress has failed to deal with the economy, the war, and the tens of millions that are presently unemployed; instead, to gain votes, Republicans in Congress want to rob children of their constitutional birth right.”

The Socialist Party USA has always been a strong defender of the rights of all immigrants to education, health care, and full civil and legal rights; and a call for an unconditional amnesty program for all undocumented people. The Socialist Party USA is also calling for full citizenship rights upon demonstrating residency for six months.

Steve Lister says “It’s not the U.S. Constitution and it’s not the children; it’s capitalism. The central role global capitalism plays is to force the migration of people from the less developed to the more industrialized countries, often leading to further economic exploitation and social injustice. We must end the economic exploitation and demand social justice for the children.”

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