Immigration

Chris Christie Goes Full Nativist

Written by SK Ashby

It may have made sense at some point in our history to grant citizenship to every person born in the United States, Governor Chris Christie says, but it doesn't make sense anymore. For reasons.

via ThinkProgress

In a radio appearance on Wednesday, conservative host Laura Ingraham asked Christie for his opinion on birthright citizenship, a topic he does not seem to have specifically addressed before. In response, Christie said he believed the policy may be outdated.

“I think all this stuff needs to be reexamined in light of the current circumstances,” he said. “[Birthright citizenship] may have made sense at some point in our history, but right now, we need to re-look at all that.

While several of his Republican presidential opponents have taken nativist positions, this actually places Chris Christie to the right of Donald Trump on immigration.

Birthright citizenship is guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, an amendment conservatives are not fond of for reasons beyond this. The 14th Amendment also grants equal protection under the law. Gay marriage bans were overturned by numerous state and federal courts on the basis that such bans are unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment.

Unfortunately for Chris Christie but fortunately for America, it's unlikely his radical pandering will significantly increase his poll numbers which are currently hovering around 1 percent in early primary states.

Christie may convert to nativism in the name of votes, but there's still that one time he openly cooperated with President Obama after a natural disaster. That's unforgivable.