Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
[ MUSIC ]
I do compare the birthright movement today
to a similar movement that took place in Texas in 1897,
when the Populist Party and the Republican Party
joined forces to try to pass laws
that prohibited Mexican immigrants from being U.S. citizens.
And at the same time, their aim was to decitizenize Mexican-Americans
whose parents were of indigenous decent,
and this movement ended up in federal court,
all on the basis that Mexican people could not be citizens,
because at the time, Native Americans were not citizens of the U.S.
And we know that most Mexicans are full
Native Americans or part Native Americans.
So they were trying to use a tribal law to affect
the Mexican population, but they lost.
The federal government stated, "No you can't do that.
Mexicans are basically detribalized people,
and they have the right for citizenship."
But I believe it's avery similar movement.
The political context of these resolutions,
I have found, are very much related to innitiaves by states
to try to control undocumented migration.
But also the belief that many of the people who are Latinos and
children of undocumented workers and children of
people on temporary visas should not become citizens,
and largely because I think this is the plan for the future
to reduce the size of the electoral population.
Who are adversly affected?
I would say it would be the Latino community, because
if children of undocumented workers in the future are decitizenized,
they will not be able to vote, and this will affect the electoral politics.
But it also affects the Asian communities.
The majority of people on temporary work permits are Asians,
which it's from 52 to 58 percent of those who obtain those type of visas,
and the student population is 62 percent Asian, so these individuals,
the children of these individuals, would also lose the right to vote.
I just don't understand how decitizenizing a child born in the U.S.
will curtail undocumented migration.
To me, it's just not a Republican or Democratic principle
and it's very unamerican.
[ MUSIC ]