Congressman Joins Group That Wants to Change 14th Amendment

Utah Congressman Jason Chaffetz has joined a group of 78 legislators who want to change the U.S. Constitution to restrict citizenship to only those babies born to U.S. citizens and legal residents.

The 14th Amendment currently states that any person born inside the United States or within U.S. territories is considered to be a citizen, with full rights, even if his or her parents are not lawful residents or citizens. The Birthright Citizenship Act hopes to change that.

Chaffetz said he feels the current practice is "being abused and I don't want to offer incentives for people to come here illegally. Becoming a United States citizen is valuable and should be earned."

Chaffetz said he believes that children born in the U.S. or in a U.S. territory should have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or legal resident in order to qualify as a citizen.

In order for the law to take effect, the bill needs a 2/3 approval by Congress and ratifications from 38 states.

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