L’Arizona enflamme Washington

L’Arizona enflamme Washington

Le conflit déclenché autour de la loi SB 1070 de l’Arizona sur l’immigration touche désormais Washington. Il s’agit de sénateurs républicains, qui interviennent dans ce débat, donnant une dimension nationale et institutionnelle à la querelle entre l’administration fédérale et l’Etat de l’Arizona. Au coeur du débat également, l’attaque du sénateur de l’Arizona Kyl, n°2 du parti républicain et partisan de la loi SB 1070, contre le 14ème amendement de la Constitution qui donne la citoyenneté US à un enfant né sur le territoire US, même si ses parents n’ont pas la nationalité US. Cet amendement, qui fut institué en 1868 pour assurer que les esclaves émancipés aient la nationalité US, permet aux enfants d’immigrants illégaux d’acquérir la nationalité US.

L’attaque du sénateur Kyl a eu lieu le 1er août 2010, lors l’émission Face the Nation sur CBS.

«Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., said today that Congress should hold hearings to look into denying citizenship to illegal aliens' children born in the United States, as the fight over immigration widens into the explosive “birthright” issue.

»Kyl told CBS' ‘Face the Nation’ that he supports a call by fellow Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to introduce a new amendment to repeal the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

»Support is growing for this stunning reversal from Graham, who in 2007 drew the ire of Republicans when he lobbied for granting legal status to 12 million undocumented workers, and along with President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., led the failed immigration reform effort that would have given illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.»

Cette affaire du 14ème amendement est directement liée à la controverse de la loi SB 1070 de l’Etat de l’Arizona. Le sénateur Kyl en a également parlé dimanche, en affirmant que le Congrès devrait se prononcer sur cette loi (en sa faveur), plutôt que laisser cette affaire à l’administration.

«...Kyl is a supporter of the law. “I think the court's decision was wrong,” he said today. “The governor and legislative leaders have talked about possibly tweaking – to use their phrase – the law to see if they can obviate the concerns the judge expressed. I don't think they can because her decision was very sweeping.

»“I think it more likely that Congress could act to actually fix the problem,” Kyl said, “by reaffirming that it is Congress' intent that the law be enforced, rather than having the administration decide that they don't want to thoroughly enforce the law.” Kyl said his support of the law has to do with illegal aliens taking jobs that Americans want; immigrants posing a burden on the state in the form of education, medical care and welfare benefits; and crime.»

Le site Huffington.post (le 2 août 2010) publie également un texte sur l’attitude du sénateur Kyl sur la question du 14ème amendement, en faveur d'une législation qui annihile ses effets, – pour constater que cette question est déjà largement débattue dans le même sens au sein du parti républicain. Le débat risque bien de prendre une place centrale dans la campagne électorale de novembre, et au-delà.

«On Sunday, Sen. John Kyl (R-Ariz.) became the highest-ranking Republican to call for the repeal of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In doing so, the Senate's no. 2 Republican didn't place himself on the extreme wing of his party's stance on immigration policy. Rather, he joined what is a growing movement that could very well shape the official policy planks of the GOP. […]

»But what may be most telling about the 14th amendment repeal campaign – the element that suggests it could be a major philosophical force within the Republican Party – are its roots. Well before it became en vogue for Republicans to advocate fundamental change in citizenship laws, the idea was being bandied about among the intellectual bastions of the conservative movement. The Heritage Foundation produced a report on the matter in 2006. And Fred Thompson – back when he was igniting a whisper campaign that he was the one Republican with the intellectual heft to run for president -– was talking about repealing the 14th amendment back in 2007.

»“I think that law was created at another time and place for valid reasons,” said the former U.S. senator from Tennessee. “It probably needs to be revisited.”»

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