Linda Chavez: Conservatives and Citizenship

Linda Chavez, the chairman of the Center for Equal Opportunity and author of Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics takes on Jeb Bush's recent backtracking on the question of whether we should "grant legal residency but withhold citizenship to the 11 million illegal immigrants living in the country today".

The conservative author writes:

Conservatives should not want a country in which substantial numbers of those who reside here will eschew participating in the civic life of the country, with its obligations as well as its rights. Living here and enjoying the fruits of all this country offers should impose certain duties.

More: We all should know the history of this nation, understand our republican form of government, and be active and knowledgeable participants in choosing our leaders. Clearly, these characteristics do not apply even to everyone who was born here -- but we should be even more concerned that those we invite to live here, protected by our laws, should have the responsibility of participating in our civic life. It is not in our interest to have a two-tiered society in which a substantial number of those who have made their permanent homes in the United States are excluded from citizenship.

Read more:  http://townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/2013/03/08/conservatives-and-citizenship-n1528460/page/full/