Senate Democrats are blasting a bill from a Republican U.S. senator called the Birthright Citizenship Act, which would stop granting U.S. citizenship to U.S.-born children whose parents are undocumented immigrants.

Democrats have criticized the bill as "stupid."

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., introduced the Birthright Citizenship Act in an effort to "prevent the practice of birthright tourism." According to Vitter, his bill would close a loophole by clarifying that "birthright citizenship is only given to the children of U.S. citizens and legal resident aliens." Vitter's bill was introduced as an amendment for the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

"It's astounding that we're allowing foreign citizens to exploit the loopholes of our immigration system in this manner, and Congress has the obligation to stop it," Vitter said in a statement. "This practice comes down to a fundamental misunderstanding of the 14th Amendment, and we can stop the massive problem with some simple clarification."

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Vitter's amendment is "stupid."

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said he was disappointed the Senate cannot move forward with the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act due to Vitter's amendment. While addressing the Senate floor, Menendez said, "This amendment is out of place and out of step with everything we stand for in the Senate. It is an amendment to a bill that seeks to amend the Constitution. It is an amendment offered by a Republican that grows the government and increases taxes. It is an amendment to a trafficking bill that could make people more likely to be trafficked."

Menendez said Vitter's bill is an attempt to argue with the U.S. Supreme Court and "the English language" by stating "undocumented immigrants are not 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof',"" as stated in the 14th Amendment.

"Eliminating Birthright Citizenship would create a perpetual class of undocumented immigrants, ironically growing the undocumented population by ensuring that undocumented children, and their children, and their children's children, can never come out of the shadows and be equal before the law," continued Menendez.

In response to Reid's "stupid" statement, Vitter acknowledged a 1993 speech delivered by the current Senator minority leader. Vitter said, "Even Harry Reid has acknowledged that it's crazy to grant birthright citizenship to every child born in the U.S. It's an absolute magnet that encourages more illegal aliens to come here. We have a whole industry of birth tourism, which highlights just one part of our very broken immigration system. Ending birthright citizenship would dramatically improve this situation."

Vitter's amendment is not a new piece of legislation. He originally introduced the legislation in 2011 and he's reintroducing it in the Republican-led Senate. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, also introduced the 2011 legislation with Vitter.

Paul had said in 2011, "Citizenship is a privilege, and only those who respect our immigration laws should be allowed to enjoy its benefits. This legislation makes it necessary that everyone follow the rules, and goes through same process to become a U.S. citizen."

A potential 2016 presidential candidate, Paul has not reaffirmed his stance on Vitter's bill. Following a Republican luncheon on Thursday, Paul said, "I haven't seen it, but I'll look at it."

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