GOP Group Challenges Outright Citizenship Birthright

USA Today: Republican lawmakers in 15 states Tuesday announced a nationwide effort to change the way the 14th Amendment is interpreted and stop granting citizenship to babies born in the USA to illegal immigrants. A national coalition called State Legislators for Legal Immigration is coordinating the effort. Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce said Kansas lawyer Kris Kobach, who helped draft Arizona's tough immigration law now on appeal in the federal courts, is working with him and Republican state Rep. John Kavanagh to draft a bill that all the states could use as a model on the citizenship issue. Pearce said a bill draft is written and will be ready for consideration when the Arizona legislative session starts in January. He would not say exactly how they will propose denying citizenship but said the legislation would not be retroactive. Previous attempts in Arizona have focused on tinkering with state-issued birth certificates. When asked how the state would prove citizenship in a delivery room, Pearce said delayed birth certificates could be given to allow parents time to gather proof of citizenship. States issue birth certificates but citizenship is a federal issue.