In recent days, Republicans have been clamoring to alter the 14th Amendment, jumping onto a movement once relegated to the fringe of their party. Pushed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a number of leading Republicans have lent their support to the idea of revoking the right to birthright citizenship. But in an op-ed in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI) called changing the amendment a “bad idea,” and warned his colleagues not to follow the path of Europe and enact xenophobic legislation:

I am the child of immigrants, a citizen by birth, and at age 39 I proudly placed my hand on the Bible and swore to protect our Constitution as a member of the U.S. Congress. My story is not unique. For more than 200 years our ancestors abandoned their homes and risked their lives to come here, work hard, and provide a better life for their families. The opportunity to do so is part of what makes our country the greatest on Earth.

I understand that our immigration system is broken and share the frustration of so many Americans with our porous borders. America needs comprehensive immigration reform; it is critical to our nation’s future. But it is simply unrealistic to believe that we can fix the problem by amending the Constitution.

Critics of birthright citizenship cite poll numbers and recent laws passed by European countries limiting citizenship. America is not Europe. Nor should we want to be. Europe has struggled for centuries with assimilating ethnic groups. By contrast, America’s unique melting pot of cultures and ethnicities has successfully assimilated new groups in far less time. This assimilation has made the whole nation stronger.

The 14th Amendment is one of the crowning achievements of the Republican Party. Following the Civil War, the 14th Amendment guaranteed due process for every person under the law and helped to reunite a fractured nation. It pains me to think that we may start tinkering with this fundamental fabric of our union.

Djou won his seat in a largely Democratic district with the help of national tea party groups, including the Tax Day Tea Party and American Liberty Alliance, but in a recent interview with ThinkProgress, Djou refused to call himself a tea party candidate.

During an interview in July, ThinkProgress asked Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) if he wished to repeal health reform, specifically inquiring if he would join the right-wing “100% repeal” discharge petition circulated by Rep. Steve King (R-IA). Petri, known as a moderate to some, said he would not join King’s effort. “I’m not in favor of repealing every last thing in it,” he explained after a town hall in Mayville, Wisconsin. Watch it:

However, Petri signed King’s discharge petition yesterday to repeal everything in health reform. In doing so, he joined other GOP members, like Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-GA), Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA), and Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI), who all similarly said they were not interested in stripping Americans of new health reform subsidies and protections. Those members also signed King’s radical petition to do with away with every last provision of the health reform law.

Reached for comment, Petri spokesman Niel Wright told ThinkProgress that although his boss signed King’s petition, he does not share King’s views on health reform and does not intend “at this time” to sign onto King’s companion health reform repeal bill, H.R. 4972.

On Monday afternoon, ThinkProgress sat down with newly elected Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI) to discuss his views on policy and the state of the Republican Party. Djou won his seat with the help of national tea party groups, including the Tax Day Tea Party and American Liberty Alliance. Eric Odom, a the national tea party organizer profiled by ThinkProgress in February, and his cohorts even traveled to Hawaii to help get out the vote while running ads through his Liberty First PAC in support of Djou. In the interview with ThinkProgress however, Djou would not call himself a tea party candidate, and momentarily forgot the name of Eric Odom. Although Djou said he would not “turn away” tea party support, he made sure to tell us that the tea party made a very small impact in his race:

TP: Would you consider yourself a tea party candidate?

DJOU: Would I consider myself a tea party candidate? You know, you’d have to ask the tea party that instead of me. You know the tea party, even though it exists in Hawaii, isn’t really that big and really isn’t as big as perhaps in other U.S. states. I guess my description of the tea party is similar that of President Obama’s description in that they have very legitimate concerns, legitimate concerns that I share.

TP: What about Eric Odom? He came to Hawaii to help you be elected to Congress and he’s a national tea party organizer, long time Republican activist. Do you think your victory owes a little bit to his involvement in your race, or not at all?

DJOU: Uh, heh, first of all, you mention the name Eric Odom. I had to pause and think, who is that? You know I’m happy for a lot of support I got from a lot of entities from around this country in my race, but my race ultimately was won by the hard work of volunteers on the ground in Hawaii by Hawaii residents. I mean if you look back in term of the number of volunteers, the amount of money I raised from the tea party, I would be very surprised if it was more than one or two percentage points in terms of both volunteer time as well as financial support. With all that said here, I don’t want to minimize here and say I don’t want tea party support or I’m going to turn it away. I did not, I will not. But I mean, the tea party had as much influence as any other interest group that gave one percent or two percent of volunteer time and financial support to my campaign, and you can probably list three dozen organizations that fit in that mold.

Watch it:

After his special election in a traditionally progressive state, Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) similarly distanced himself from the tea parties. Like Djou, Brown relied on tea party enthusiasm, money, and grassroots activism for his campaign victory. But after being sworn into office, Brown has not spoken at tea party rallies, called himself a tea party candidate, and even declined an invitation at a major Boston tea party rally.

In a recent chat on RedState.com, a commenter asked newly elected Rep. Charles Djou (R-HI) — who won a special election in a traditionally Democratic district — his views on Arizona’s harsh new anti-immigration law. Djou responded without taking a specific stance:

As the child of immigrants, I understand that immigration is a positive benefit for our nation. While I support a large open front door to legal immigration in the U.S., that will only work if we close the back door of illegal immigration. I understand Arizona’s frustration — all the more reason Congress must act to address illegal immigration.

Yesterday, ThinkProgress interviewed Djou at his office on Capitol Hill and asked him for further clarification:

Q: Do you think that their new law, SB 1070, was a good idea?

DJOU: I am disappointed that Arizona needed to pass that law. Uh, were I a member of the Arizona state legislature — I fully understand why members of the Arizona state legislature passed it. The reason Arizona needed to do this was the failure and abdication by the federal government to enforce immigration rules and laws, and–

Q: So if you were in the Arizona, you would have voted for it, if you were a state legislator then?

DJOU: Probably, probably, but I’m not a member of the Arizona legislature. Uh, I am however a member of the United States Congress and I think it is incumbent upon the United States Congress and the federal government to enforce the law.

Watch it: