As anti-immigration sentiment continues to rise along with border violence, proposals to abolish the 14th Amendment’s birthright citizenship provision have ricocheted through the political noise machine as an antidote for the incidence of “anchor babies.” But as a practical matter, what would the removal of birthright citizenship mean for the country? Pierce the fog of rhetoric and you’ll quickly discover that nobody really knows — including the state and federal lawmakers yelling loudest for change.
John Cornyn
Posted in
Congress
TribBlog: KBH Will Vote No on Kagan
Joining her home state Republican colleague, John Cornyn, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison will oppose Elena Kagan’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Posted in
Demographics
Barack the Enforcer
Despite grousing from congressmen and state officials in Arizona and Texas — notably Gov. Rick Perry — that the Obama administration has abdicated its role in the protecting the nation’s borders from illegal immigration, the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative units this year each recorded their highest monthly number of cases referred for prosecution since the Bush administration, according to a report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
TribBlog: Cornyn Says No to Kagan
The senator says Kagan has not made clear she would “protect the fundamental rights written in our constitution.”
Posted in
Demographics
The Brief: July 2, 2010
He may be able to stay on message politically, but Gov. Rick Perry might still have something to learn when it comes to staying on topic on the phone.
Posted in
Energy
Air Splitting
The battle over Texas’ environmental regulations came to a head as the Environmental Protection Agency shot down the state’s air-pollution permitting regime for large plants. It’s the latest episode in a larger cultural and political fracas pitting Texas against Washington — and business against government — that continues to take center stage in the race for governor.
Posted in
Congress
TribBlog: Nothing to See Here
Federal and military officials say Texans needn’t worry about 17 Afghan military trainees who disappeared from Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Many of the Afghans, who were studying English, have been located — and they say none of them pose the national security threat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and other lawmakers fear.
