Mar 12, 2015 - NATIONAL LATINO LEADERS CALL ON SENATORS TO OPPOSE VITTER AMENDMENT

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March 12, 2015

NATIONAL LATINO LEADERS CALL ON SENATORS TO OPPOSE VITTER AMENDMENT
Sen. Vitter's attempt to deny U.S. citizenship to children born in the U.S. ignores the lessons of history

Washington, D.C. -- The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 39 of the nation's most preeminent Latino organizations, today issued a letter to every member of the U.S. Senate expressing its vehement opposition to the amendment proposed by Senator Vitter to dismantle the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees that anyone born in the United States is a United States citizen.

In its letter, NHLA also informed Members of Congress that votes on the Vitter amendment, or any similar measure, will be included in NHLA's Congressional scorecard for the 114th Congress.
The Vitter amendment mirrors legislation that the senator has introduced in previous years, which would seek to deny citizenship to any child born to undocumented immigrants or those legally present with certain visas. This legislation attempts a major reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, that would create a vast new underclass of stateless non-citizens who would be in legal limbo. The grave social, economic, and legal impacts of such a change to the 14th Amendment have elicited widespread opposition to this concept, such as by the American Bar Association, which adopted a resolution in 2011 opposing any such effort.

"The history of the Civil War has taught us the horrible repercussions of unjustly denying equal legal rights to everyone born in the United States. That is why the Fourteenth Amendment, among other amendments, were added to our Constitution over a century ago. Sadly, Senator Vitter has either not learned the lessons of history, or has such hatred for immigrants that he wishes to see their children, who have no control over the circumstances of their birth, treated as second class citizens. As our nation continues to heal from the divisiveness and injustice of slavery and segregation, we must unite against any attempt to desecrate the letter and spirit of our Constitution by once again instituting inequality on such a massive scale. It would be unconscionable for any Senator to join in support of the Vitter amendment," said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.

"Senator Vitter's renewed attempt to undermine bedrock constitutional principle in the Fourteenth Amendment is nothing but a dog-whistle re-assertion that he is the preeminent elected leader for hard-core nativists in our country; regrettably, Vitter currently has too many Know-Nothing competitors for that dubious title," stated Thomas A. Saenz, MALDEF President and General Counsel. "Any other senator who supports this amendment betrays his or her own contempt for civil rights, national unity, and the rule of constitutional law."

"More than one hundred years ago, the American people debated what it meant to be a citizen of the United States. They decided, through the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, that U.S. citizenship was determined by birthright, not by race or ethnicity. Sen. Vitter's legislation attempts to undo the long-standing will of the American people and the traditions of our nation. It is a shameful repudiation of our values and a callous act of political opportunism. One can only hope that his fellow senators unanimously reject his attempt to take us back to the days when the color of a person's skin or their national origin kept them from claiming the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship," stated Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation.

"Senator Vitter's amendment is unconstitutional and a violation of everything our Founding Fathers stood for when they envisioned a country that provided a home for conscientious and persevering immigrants. This amendment to an anti-trafficking bill is counterproductive, as it would leave children more vulnerable to abuse, sexual exploitation, and human trafficking given that many predators use lack of citizenship as a tool to exert power and control over their victims. To deny citizenship to babies born in the United States is to codify inequality and discrimination in a country whose very bedrock is the aspiration to equality and inclusivity," said Juan Carlos Areán, Senior Director of Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network.

For the full text of NHLA's letter to Senators, click here.

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In 2013, NHLA launched the Latinos United for Immigration Reform campaign. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and LatinosUnited.org and follow @NHLAgenda.