8/7/2019 ACC Principles - Cover Letter

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March 28, 2011

Dear Governor:

As the Advisory Committee of the newly-formed coalition Americans for Constitutional Citizenship (ACC),we write to present you with our Statement of Principles and our growing list of member organizations.ACC was organized in response to the unveiling, earlier this year, of several federal and state proposals thatwould undermine the Citizenship Clause of the 14 th Amendment of our Constitution in the name of controlling unauthorized immigration. Our coalition stands ready to strongly oppose any such efforts.

The 14th Amendment was adopted to prevent exactly what these legislative proposals attempt to do. Itsguarantee of constitutional citizenship was intended to put United States citizenship above the preferencesand prejudices of any politician or era. It is clear that the authors of the 14 th Amendment intended it to applyto children of immigrants, and the federal courts have agreed.

Efforts to rewrite the Citizenship Clause, if pursued, would have far-reaching negative consequences. Instead

of reducing unauthorized immigration, they would simply increase the number of people who live outside of the law. Rather than strengthening our families and society, they would feed into slanderous anddehumanizing myths about immigrant mothers and their children. They would also create countless practicalquestions, to be addressed in the midst of the momentous occasion of childbirth. Finally, to the extent thatthese efforts might be undertaken through ordinary state or federal legislative processes, they are patentlyunconstitutional.

For these reasons, we urge you to reject, in the strongest terms, any attempt to rewrite our ConstitutionsCitizenship Clause. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson President & CEOThe Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Barbara R. Arnwine Executive Director Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Linda Chavez ChairmanOne Nation Indivisible

Richard CohenPresidentSouthern Poverty Law Center

Walter E. Dellinger III Former Assistant Attorney General &Head of Office of Legal Counsel 1993-1996

James C. Ho Partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLPFormer Solicitor General of Texas

Alan JenkinsExecutive Director The Opportunity Agenda

Laura W. Murphy Director of Washington Legislative OfficeAmerican Civil Liberties Union

Karen K. Narasaki President & CEOAsian American Justice Center

John A. Payton President and Director-CounselNAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Thomas A. Saenz President and General CounselMexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Hilary O. Shelton Director & Senior Vice President for AdvocacyNAACP, Washington Bureau