Chuck Todd, guest hosting on Monday’s Hardball, made a very interesting point with guest Ernest Istook. And when we say “very interesting”, what we really mean is stupid.
Istook: The Supreme Court precedent on this, which was in 1898, was the case of Wong Kim Ark. And in that case, he was the child of parents who were here legally, and lawfully. The Supreme Court has not ruled on the case of children of parents who are here illegally.
Todd: But here’s the issue you have. Let me read you–and it’s a very familiar phrase to a lot of folks–that greets people when they came to Liberty Island and Ellis Island. It says: “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shores. Send these the homeless tempest [tossed] to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” There was no mention of whether these folks had to be legal citizens…
Istook: “…my grandparents came through Ellis Island. My father’s parents were immigrants from Hungary. So I know the Emma Lazarus poem that you were quoting. But that’s not the same as quoting the provisions of the Constitution.”
It’s a poem, Chuck, just a poem. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddle masses” isn’t part of the Constitution any more than “There once was a girl from Nantucket” is part of the Declaration of Independence.
H/T: NewsBusters.org
