Presidential candidate Governor Scott Walker, R-Wis., flip-flopped on birthright citizenship Sunday morning, saying that he opposes efforts to repeal the 14th Amendment, a reversal of his stated position earlier this week.
Asked directly Sunday by George Stephanopoulos whether he would seek “to repeal or alter the 14th Amendment,” Walker responded “no.”
But last week when asked whether the U.S. “should end birthright citizenship,” Walker told NBC News, “yeah.”
On Friday, he told CNBC that he actually was not going taking a position on the Fourteenth Amendment “one way or the other.”
Walker dodged and gave opaque answers on the question of his position all week, before his answer that he does not support the effort to repeal the 14th amendment Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
The issue has been an important one for Republican candidates after front runner Donald Trump announced he supports revoking birthright citizenship in a policy plan released last Sunday. Trump espoused this view at a 20,000 strong Mobile, Alabama rally where he was joined by Senator Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., who also supports revoking the birthright provision.
The right has become controversial in recent years as critics have alleged that it is being intentionally abused by illegal immigrants, who enter the country to give birth in the United States. The controversial phrase “anchor babies” describes the children of these people, who then then seek legal status themselves so that they can remain with their citizen children.
The concept of birthright citizenship is enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, enacted shortly after the Civil War. It guarantees that any person born in the United States, for any reason, is a citizen of the United States.
Modern critics allege that immigration levels in the United States are progressing an unsustainable level not foreseen by the crafters of the nineteenth century provision, representing a huge demographic shift.
Walker is considered a candidate with dual appeal, reasonably well-liked within the Republican establishment, and also popular with the base. That he could potentially unite the party has long been a major part of the appeal of his candidacy. However, this has also led to an attempt by Walker to split hairs, and awkwardly fumble matters of policy.
