GOHMERT PRESSES HIS CASE ON TERRORIST BABIES…. Remember Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and his fears about terrorist babies? He’s now arguing to have some “proof” to bolster his case.
Last week, Gohmert made his case on the House floor, insisting that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution leaves us vulnerable. Since the measure says, in effect, that if you’re born in the United States, you’re a natural-born American, Gohmert thinks pregnant terrorists will come to U.S. soil, have babies who’ll be American citizens, and “20, 30 years down the road,” these home-grown terrorists can “help destroy our way of life.”
Gohmert claimed to have talked to “a retired FBI agent” who told him national security officials believe “terrorist cells overseas” have “figured out how to game our system.”
We all had a good laugh at Gohmert’s expense last week, but the right-wing lawmaker is still pressing his case. Now, instead of relying on an unnamed “retired FBI agent,” Gohmert is citing a conversation he had with a “lady on the plane.” Here he is, making his case on the Fox Business Channel on Thursday:
“[I]t’s not just a theory. It first came to my attention. Some of us were traveling to the Middle East last August, a year ago. And a lady on the plane was telling one of our group that they were about to have their second granddaughter. Her husband was with Hamas, her grand — I’m sorry her son-in-law was with Hamas. And that they were going to do with the second as they did with the first grandchild. Daughter is going to come to America right before it’s born on a tourist visa. Have the baby. They just like the option of having American citizens in the family. […]
“We’re bringing them over here on tourist visas, some illegally, letting them be born here and saying this is an American citizen. So come back in 20, 25 years when you’re ready to blow us up.”
Well, if a perpetually foolish member of Congress had a conversation with a “lady on the plane” last year, I’m ready to pass a constitutional amendment; how about you?
As a substantive matter, Gohmert’s imaginary scenario is pretty farfetched. As Andrea Nill explained, “[S]ince 9/11, travelers from most parts of the world who want to come to the U.S. on a tourist visa have to undergo a rigorous process just to obtain permission to enter the U.S. They must provide evidence which shows the purpose of the trip, submit fingerprints and photographs, and undergo an interview by a visa officer at the US Embassy. The requirements for anyone seeking to obtain a green card, which include a criminal background check, are even more stringent.”
Moreover, there’s just no credible evidence that terrorists are using birthright-citizenship as part of attack plots scheduled for the year 2035. Not even a little. Gohmert opposes immigration, so he’s making up a ridiculous scenario to scare people into doing what he wants to do anyway.
That said, given the right’s interest in this, it’s all but certain Congress will debate this in earnest in 2011 if Republicans retake the majority.
