Sept. 16, 2004
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- A measure has been proposed to the U.S. House of Representatives that would allow foreign-born people to be president of the United States.
Rep. Dana Rohrbacher, R-Calif., introduced the proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday, suggesting foreign-born people who have been U.S. citizens for at least 20 years be eligible to run for president.
The measure is similar to one proposed last year by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
Neither Hatch nor Rohrbacher claim to have been thinking of a possible presidency of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was born in Austria, as a reason behind their proposals.
"It is time that we amend the Constitution to remove an archaic provision that was originally designed to keep the nobility of foreign countries from meddling in American democracy," Rohrbacher said in a release. "If an immigrant has demonstrated his commitment to America and is truly qualified as a leader, then there is no good reason to bar him from seeking the highest office in the land."
The U.S. Constitution decrees that "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United State at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible for the Office of the President; ..."
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