The new third rail

Reagan-era Speaker of the House, Tip O’Neill, is widely credited for coining the phrase “Third rail of politics” when discussing Social Security. The implication was that the reform of Social Security was an untouchable topic that should be avoided at all costs. “Third rail” is a powerful metaphor that describes the third rail on a subway track, a metal bar running parallel to the tracks carrying a deadly 600 volts of electricity.

The Trump Administration may have little choice but to approach Social Security, the lethal third rail, but now they appear to have raised an issue that may prove to be a contender for that title.

“Birthright Citizenship” describes the long-held principle that any individual born on U.S. soil is automatically a citizen of the United States, regardless of circumstance. The guarantee follows the principle expressed by the Latin term “jus soli” or “right of the soil. More often, the issue is described in terms of the decidedly less-kind expression, “anchor baby.”

Americans have a legitimate concern with the issue. Any child born to an otherwise unlawful immigrant is entitled to all of the rights of U.S. Citizenship, including a dip into our generous menu of social services. The birth of that child also elevates the status of the illegal immigrant, who now finds themselves as the parent and primary caregiver of a U.S. Citizen.

The issue is not foreign to Nebraskans. Since 2012, Nebraska has had a law on the books that requires the state to pay for prenatal care for women who have entered the United States illegally. Why? We pay for prenatal care because when that child is born, they will be Nebraskans. We want them to be healthy.

Despite our magnanimous assumption of responsibility for prenatal care, most Americans view birthright citizenship as a privilege that is being “gamed” by calculating immigrants in an attempt to circumvent the law.

The problem is that birthright citizenship is ensured by the 14th Amendment of our Constitution, which was ratified in 1868 as a way to grant citizenship to formerly enslaved people in an attempt to guarantee rights for African Americans.

With a media that regularly portrays the President as a racist neo-Nazi, aided by his reliable flow of gaffs that support those arguments, the administration must surely know that it is walking into a minefield. Any tinkering with the 14th Amendment is sure to arouse sensitivities in the African American community that the Republican Party has been trying, with some success, to lure back to the party of Abraham Lincoln. Hence, there are concerns about a “new third rail” in American politics.

Last week, a federal judge blocked an executive order issued by the administration that would deny citizenship to individuals born after Feb. 19 if their parents are in the country illegally. Calling the executive order “blatantly unconstitutional,” a federal judge has sidelined the order for 14 days pending further arguments at a Feb. 6 hearing. Speaking on behalf of the administration, Department of Justice officials insist that they have the legal argument to prove the measure constitutional and predict that they will win the day.

Whatever the outcome, the administration has chosen to walk on delicate ground. Perhaps they will have the wisdom to use the distraction provided by birthright citizenship to do something meaningful with the original third rail, Social Security.