2015. On our threehour program this morning, well be talking about police reform, u. S. National security challenges in the middle east, and the state of the u. S. Auto industry. But we begin this morning with the renewed debate in the country over the 14th amendment and birthright citizenship. With republican president ial candidate donald trump and several of his fellow gop contenders now calling for an end to the practice of granting automatic citizenship to anyone born on u. S. Soil, were asking our viewers to weigh in on this latest debate over immigration policy. Should the u. S. End birthright citizenship . If you think yes, the number for you is 2027488000. If you say no to ending birthright citizenship, the number is 2027488001. We also have a special line this morning for americans whose parents were foreign born, those firstgeneration americans can call in at 2027488002. A very good thursday morning to you on the washington journal. We begin this morning with a concept of birthright citizenship, that if youre born on u. S. Soil, youre a u. S. Citizen regardless of the legal status of your parents. It was a debate thats been renewed in this country ever since the release of a position planned by republican president ial candidate donald trump in which he said in that plan that birthright citizenship remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration in this country. Since that plan was released, several republican president ial contenders have also jumped on to the concept of ending birthright citizenship. Heres a tweet from republican governor former louisiana governor bobby jindal. He says, the need to end birthright citizenship we need to end birthright citizenship for illegal imgrantedi immigrants immigrants, in his tweet from earlier. Ted cruz also with a Statement Last night thats making headlines, saying, i absolutely back birthright citizenship. But it was donald trump who has spurred the debate over birthright citizenship. He talked abouted aboutalked ar this week. Bill, i think youre wrong about the 14th amendment and frankly the whole thing with anchor babies and the concept of anchor babies. I dont think youre right about that. I can quote it. You want me to quote you the amendment . If you were born here, youre an american, period. Period. But there are many lawyers many lawyers are saying thats not the way it is in terms of this. What happens is theyre in mexico, theyre going to have a baby, they move over here for a couple of days, they have the baby. Theyre saying its not going to hold up in court. Its going to have to be tested. Regardless, when people are illegally in the country, they have to go. Now, the good ones, and there are plenty of good ones we can extradite it when they come back in. Bill, we have a country. You need borders, and you need laws. We have no law. That is republican president ial candidate donald trump earlier this week talking about birthright citizenship, using the term there anchor babies, a controversial term as noted in the New York Times in their coverage of this story today. They noted that when a reporter asked him last night at one of his events if he knew how offensive some people found the term anchor babies, he was incredulous, the New York Times writes. Quote, what else do you want me to say . Ill use the word anchor babies, donald trump said in the quote according to tthe new york time times. The debate happening at dueling town halls last night. Donald trump and jeb bush squaring off at two different events during the same time. Were getting your thoughts this morning. Should the u. S. End birthright citizenship . Well start this morning with joe from georgia on the line for those who think we should not end birthright citizenship. Is this Joe Mccutchen . Caller john, i strongly love cspan. Ive been calling your Great Network 35 years. Youre doing a great job. I strongly support ted cruz. I think hell be the best president in history. I agree with his thoughts on this birthright 100 . I think that we just cant afford john, we have a 18 trillion debt. We have to crank down and stop somewhere. I think ted cruz is exactly right. Theres a headline in todays Orange County register. Their lead story noting trump has gop on a risky path, tough talk on immigration might hurt in 2016, according to the experts. What do you think about this kind of talk about ending birthright citizenship, what it will mean for general election . Caller i think the American People support it. I think theyre on the side with cruz, and i dont think i think its going to i think cruzs position is going to help him be elected president , and im so fired up im having a hard time sleeping at night, john. Thats joe in georgia. Longtime viewer and caller to this program. We want to hear from our viewers this morning. Lines for those who think we should end birthright citizenship in this country, those who think we shouldnt, and for firstgeneration americans. Johns up next, stafford, virginia. Also believes we should end birthright citizenship. Good morning. Youre on the washington journal. Caller good morning. John here. Go ahead. Caller no, i think we should end birthrights because those are rules. Little rules, big rules, whats the difference . Is it okay if i rob a little bank versus a big bank . Its got to stop. John, your thoughts on the reading of the 14th amendment. Would this need a revision, the 14th amendment, to make this happen . I can read the 14th amendment for our viewers, noting that its the first section of the 14th amendment. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. Caller i would give them the piece of paper saying they were citizens, and then if theyre families, i would make them move out. If they want to come back legally, then thats fine. I dont have a problem with that. All right. John in stafford, virginia, this morning. This debate also playing out on our facebook page. Its facebook. Com cspan. You can participate in a poll that were conducting there. Should the u. S. End birthright citizenship . Currently those saying no are ahead of those saying yes in the responses so far. You can also leave a comment with your response, including william woodburn, whose comment on facebook was, my no is a qualified no. Id favor it if it could be rewarded sharon below that says, there must be changes made to this law because of the terrible abuse of it by illegals. If someone is illegal, should their children be legal. Tracy hall, above that, says, its funny how republicans are always screaming about protecting the constitution until its an issue they want changed. Theyre always screaming about the Second Amendment but are now trying not to recognize the 14th amendment and actually want to do away with it. You can participate in the debate there or give us a call this morning. Were getting your thoughts. Lines for those who believe we should and shouldnt do away with birthright citizenship and a line for firstgeneration americans. On that line for firstgeneration americans, don is calling in from henderson, nevada. Good morning. Caller good morning to you. Your thoughts, sir, on ending birthright citizenship. Caller i think they ought to amend that amendment to exclude illegals or include illegals to the effect that any children born of illegals cannot be citizens. They have to go through the procedure just like everybody else, stand in line, go back to their country, stand in line, and apply for citizenship. As one of your emails showed, the illegals are abusing our system to the hill. Don, let me ask you, those who are not in favor of doing away with birthright citizenship say doing so would make children responsible for the sins of their parents. What do you make of that argument . Caller i think that parents that are citizens, legally came to this country, went through the process, i think the children should become citizens, naturalized or by birth. And don, youre a firstgeneration american. How did your parents come to this country . Caller they came in through ellis island. They applied for citizenship. They couldnt even speak english. It took them four years to pass the test in english. Therefore, we became naturalized as i was under a certain age to be a naturalized citizen. Theres one thing that you got to understand in this country. We cannot make illegals legal. Those are two definitive words. Illegal and legal. Thats don caller evidently our government doesnt understand the word illegal. Don in henderson, nevada, this morning. Mandy is up next in homestead, pennsylvania. You dont believe the u. S. Should do away with birthright citizenship. Why is that . Caller i absolutely dont agree with donald trump and the other four gentlemen running for president. We are supposed to be a country that welcomes people. I am of the school that the more immigran immigrants, whether theyve come illegally or not, help ultimately our economy. It makes it better. It makes it stronger. And it shows the world that we are accepting of everyone. I want to make one other point. The republicans have spent the last 15 years redistricting everything so that it helps them succeed in the congress. Its manifested itself very well in the senate and house of representatives. Now they want to get rid of all the people that dont either look like them or act like them or talk like them so that they have their 49 reelect a republican president this go around. And its not going to happen. If we dont im talking generally now. If we dont change the way we are viewing everything, we are going to have incredible class problems in this country ultimately. Were going to have the haves and have nots at war with each other. And i guess thats what the republicans want to see happen because we can see it in the economy, and we can see it in all the policies theyre putting forward. Oppression against women, everything. This donald trump thing has gotten so wound up, and everybody is buying not everybody, but a lot of people are buying into his rhetoric. But its inflammatory. Its insensitive. And its also downright disgusting. Thats mandy in homestead, pennsylvania. Mandy mentioned four republican candidates who have gotten on board with this issue. According to the New York Times, its more than that. Their lead editorial today talks about republicans antiimmigrant race. As part of that piece, the Editorial Board writes, as mr. Trump swells in the polls, his diminished opponents are following in his wake. Several have jumped on the boat, including governor Chris Christie of new jersey. Thats the Editorial Board of the New York Times this morning if you want to read more of their thoughts. Well go to betty waiting in illinois on that line for those who think we should do away with birthright citizenship. Betty, why do you think . Caller good morning, cspan. Thank you for taking my call. I absolutely believe that we should end birthright citizenship. Id like to say to the last caller that you had, i dont know what planet or what rock shes sleeping under, but donald trump is the only person who has brought this thing to the forefront. This birthright citizenship and illegal immigration is destroying this country. The 14th amendment really came about because africanamericans were involuntarily brought to this country, and they had children and the 14th amendment was written, giving those children the right to live in this country. Had nothing to do with illegals crawling across the rio grande, coming here to suck all the life out of this country. Their whole idea is not to assimilate. They are here for the sole purpose in their minds of taking back something that they never lost. So, yes, absolutely, we should have never went along with this birthright citizenship. We are the only civilized country left on the planet thats doing this stupid stuff. We really need to get a grip. Theres no way we can keep these people in this country. They talk about how much money it will cost to send them back or to deport them. Just like they came, they can leave. They are here illegally. I dont understand what it is that people dont get when you hear the word illegal. Illegal is just that, illegal. They need to be deported back to their country, and we should be the ones who decide whos going to come into this country. Were not getting the best and the brightest from there. We are getting the dredges of these mostly latin countries. They talk about diversity, but theres no diversity here. The majority of the illegals we have in this country come from mexico. Betty, you said a minute ago that u. S. Is the only country that does this in the world. Theres actually some stats on that. Several countries in the western hemisphere use birthright citizenship. Heres a map from the center for immigration studies. Their report noting that 30 of the worlds 194 countries grant automatic birthright citizenship to children born to illegal alie aliens. Of advanced economies, the United States and canada are two countries that grant automatic birthright citizenship. That from cis. A researcher at cis who has appeared on this Program Actually testified before the Judiciary Committee earlier this year, specifically on birthright citizenship. According to his numbers, every year 350 to 400,000 children are born to Illegal Immigrants in the United States. To put this another way, he said in that testimony, as many as one out of ten births in the United States is now to an illegal immigrant mother. That from cis, if you want to check out their website. Were taking your calls this morning on this idea of birthright citizenship. Bob is up next in cincinnati, ohio. Bob, do you think the United States should do away with birthright citizenship . Caller i dont think so, and as the previous caller was saying, it would cost way too much. I believe 200 billion to 300 billion. And secondly, it bugs me that republicans are so for the constitution and for the traditional way that the government was founded in the 1700s, and then when it comes to their xenophobic stuff, they just falter. And i just dont understand why they cant just take what we were founded upon and stick with it. Bob, in terms of the costs that youre talking about, some liberal columnists noting that such a policy is doing away with birthright citizenship would cost republicans politically. Heres a column by paul waldman. The headline of that piece, did republicans just give away the 2016 election by raising birthright citizenship . He says it sends a clear message to hispanic voters. Its possible to argue youre proimmigrant while at the same time saying we should double the size of the walls and border control. Indeed, many republicans do. Thats Paul Waldmans piece from august 18th if you want to read more on that. Lets go to jacob waiting in ft. George in maryland, a firstgeneration immigrant to the United States. Jacob, your thoughts on this idea of ending birthright citizenship. Caller hi. Good morning. Thank you for having me. I think that this whole debate is stepping around the real issue. The real issue is that here in the United States, theres a person who could potentially be deported because of their parents illegal activity. Its morally reprehensible to give them citizenship to give the citizenship to a child of individuals who because of their status here should be deported. People who are here on visas, people who are here in a legal way and have a legal way of staying here, there shouldnt be any problem with them being able to have citizenship for their children. But having citizenship should be given to people who are believed to stay, to have a vested interest in the United States and people here. Whats your story . Youre a firstgeneration american. Talk about your immigration story. Caller so i think that got put down wrong. My grandmother is german. My grandfather, he was in the air force and met her overseas. She came over here on a visa, and my father owes his citizenship to the fact that, you know, she came here. However, i think they both had visas. It should definitely be legal. A visa is someone saying, im here, i want to be part of the United States, i want to be active in the United States. But two individuals or one individual who comes here illegally, theyre saying, i dont have an active interest in the United States. I have an active interest in my children and the people after them. If i get deported, you know, im okay with them being pulled out or potentially us being separated if i get thrown in jail. Its not the way. Thats jacob in maryland this morning. As we said, much of this debate over birthright citizenship focusing on the 14th amendment, which reads, all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and the state wherein they reside. Thats part of section one of the 14th amendment to the u. S. Constitution. For more on the legal background and history of this, we turn now to jonathan turley, law professor at George Washington school of law, frequent guest on this program. Good morning. Thanks for joining us. I want to ask you, how clear is that language that i just read . How clear is the 14th amendment on this issue of citizenship . Amendment is clear as to birthright citizenship. Thats not seriously in doubt. What is a question is whether the language that you just read of subject to the jurisdiction thereof is a qualifier. Some people view that line as saying that birthright citizenship is a constitutional right until that is amended. Its Something Congress can change that was not intended to cover foreigners who are illegal in terms of their status. And theres some support on both sides. The irony about all this is when the 14th amendment was debated, there were different views at that time. Senator jacob howard of michigan seemed to suggest, and he was one of the key dr