For the most powerful man in the Senate, denying American citizenship to children born to undocumented aliens is the next step in the Arizona-led crusade to confront illegal immigration in the country. But a majority of Senate President Russell Pearce’s colleagues don’t see it as a priority, and they may not go along if the so-called birthright citizenship bill is voted on before the Legislature fixes the budget and aids a weak economy.

A lawmaker who will sponsor Arizona legislation targeting automatic citizenship granted to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants says it should be considered early in the annual session that begins Monday.

Russell Pearce might have hurt his chances for Senate president when he held a press conference Oct. 19 expressing his desire to pursue legislation aimed at challenging the longstanding Constitutional interpretation that children who are born in the U.S. are American citizens, regardless of their parents’ legal status.