Ben Carson, the current
GOP front-runner, has now explained that he doesn't think the Fourteenth Amendment applies to children of undocumented immigrants. Alice Ollstein
reports:
“They should not be citizens. I don’t think so,” he said.
But unlike the former GOP frontrunner — hotel mogul Donald Trump, who he recently edged out in the polls — Carson explained that he doesn’t think a constitutional amendment is necessary.
“The interpretation [of the 14th Amendement] is left up to the Congress,” he said. “They don’t have to amend it. They just have to reinterpret it.”
“Clearly it was not intended to be a mechanism for people to come here illegally, have a baby, and use that as an anchor. It was really meant to provide relief for the Freedmen,” Carson continued, referring to the amendment’s original purpose of ensuring former slaves and their children secured the full protections of citizenship. This included Carson’s own ancestors.
Oh, right. It only applies where Ben says it applies.