Discussion · House of Representatives
James C. Moylan Republican
“I oppose the bill to end birthright citizenship in U.S. territories. Congress is trying to take away rights in Guam that the Supreme Court says it cannot take away in the 50 states. People from Guam fought for this country and serve in our military at high rates. Our land and our citizenship should be treated with the same respect as any state. I want Congress to reject this bill.”
“Madam Speaker, I rise today to strongly denounce the End Birthright Citizenship for the Territories Act. The author of this bill is quick to offer assurances that the bill explicitly carves out protection for the children born to U.S. citizens and permanent residents on Guam who will fully retain their American citizenship. They present this as a reasonable compromise, a harmless safeguard for our local families. Madam Speaker, do not mistake a patronizing concession for respect. The clause does not ease the fundamental insult of this legislation. It merely exposes its hypocrisy. By including the very language, this body openly acknowledges that it is attempting to do in the territories what the Supreme Court just ruled it cannot constitutionally do in the 50 States. It exploits the fact that citizenship in Guam is governed by statute, rather than the full embrace of the 14th Amendment. It creates a dangerous and deeply insulting double standard. It signals to our community that the ground under our feet is a lesser class of American soil. It says that while the States’ borders are structurally protected from Washington legislative whims, the legal fabric of our island cannot be experimented on by Federal mandates. Our citizenship was not handed to us by casual gift or a line item to be tinkered with. It was forged in the fires of World War II, through the brutality of an enemy occupation where our people suffered, yet never once wavered in their alliance to the United States. We have repaid that honor by serving the United States Armed Forces where our sons and daughters serve at a rate higher than nearly any jurisdiction in the Nation. To tell a population that bears a great weight of defending this Republic that Congress can selectively alter birthright citizenship on their soil is a profound sign of disrespect. It treats the sacred bond of our citizenship as a secondary status subject to the political whims of Washington. We do not ask for constitutional handouts or patronizing exemptions. We ask for equality. We demand that the soil our veterans defended be treated with the exact same constitutional reverence as the 50 States. Madam Speaker, this bill fails the test of basic respect, and I urge my colleagues reject this double standard and join me in denouncing this bill.”
Madam Speaker, I rise today to strongly denounce the End Birthright Citizenship for the Territories Act. The author of this bill is quick to offer assurances that the bill explicitly carves out protection for the children born to U.S. citizens and permanent residents on Guam who will fully retain their American citizenship. They present this as a reasonable compromise, a harmless safeguard for our local families. Madam Speaker, do not mistake a patronizing concession for respect. The clause does not ease the fundamental insult of this legislation. It merely exposes its hypocrisy. By including the very language, this body openly acknowledges that it is attempting to do in the territories what the Supreme Court just ruled it cannot constitutionally do in the 50 States. It exploits the fact that citizenship in Guam is governed by statute, rather than the full embrace of the 14th Amendment. It creates a dangerous and deeply insulting double standard. It signals to our community that the ground under our feet is a lesser class of American soil. It says that while the States’ borders are structurally protected from Washington legislative whims, the legal fabric of our island cannot be experimented on by Federal mandates. Our citizenship was not handed to us by casual gift or a line item to be tinkered with. It was forged in the fires of World War II, through the brutality of an enemy occupation where our people suffered, yet never once wavered in their alliance to the United States. We have repaid that honor by serving the United States Armed Forces where our sons and daughters serve at a rate higher than nearly any jurisdiction in the Nation. To tell a population that bears a great weight of defending this Republic that Congress can selectively alter birthright citizenship on their soil is a profound sign of disrespect. It treats the sacred bond of our citizenship as a secondary status subject to the political whims of Washington. We do not ask for constitutional handouts or patronizing exemptions. We ask for equality. We demand that the soil our veterans defended be treated with the exact same constitutional reverence as the 50 States. Madam Speaker, this bill fails the test of basic respect, and I urge my colleagues reject this double standard and join me in denouncing this bill.