14th Amendment defended

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Catholic church's umbrella organization for immigration services is decrying delays in the naturalization process and rallying support against efforts to repeal or sidestep the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law to all persons.

In the 2007 fiscal year, 1.4 million people applied for U.S. citizenship, double the previous year's applications, said Don Kerwin, director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, known by its acronym, CLINIC. It now takes 18 months to process a naturalization application, up from seven months.

"Politicians should be debating the best ways to improve the citizenship process and achieve immigrant integration, not how to deny citizenship to children born here who will never know another country," he said.

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