ATLANTA — With weeks to go before the midterm elections, Sen. Johnny Isakson is weighing in on two top issues among Republicans, saying immigration law and the recent health care legislation could both use an overhaul.

Isakson said the government should reconsider the part of the 14th amendment that guarantees citizenship to people born in the U.S. He supports passing a statute that would eliminate automatic citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country illegally.

The one-term U.S. senator, who is seeking re-election in November, also said he agrees with some aspects of the health care plan pushed by President Barack Obama, but expects that if Republicans win control of Congress they would seek to roll back some parts of the new law.

On immigration, Isakson said the federal government should make a priority of securing the U.S.-Mexico border, and criticized presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama for failing to do so. Earlier this year, Isakson co-sponsored legislation to fund 6,000 National Guard troops on the border after the Obama administration announced plans to send 1,200 National Guard troops — a number Isakson felt was insufficient.

He was also among a group of eight Republicans who called upon Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to help stem unemployment by enforcing immigration laws.

On Tuesday, Isakson stopped short of supporting the repeal of the 14th Amendment — a proposal floated by some of his colleagues in Congress — but said a statute limiting the amendment could be the quickest way to address the issue.

“Anybody born here legally, to legal parents, deserves citizenship,” Isakson said. “I think you’ve got to be absolute on that.”

Specifically, he said both parents would have to be in the country legally, either as citizens or on a visa, for example.

Anticipating “significant change” after the midterm elections, Isakson said he expected a Republican-controlled Congress to repeal at least part of the health care legislation passed this spring. He said he supports some parts of the law, specifically banning the denial of coverage for pre-existing health conditions and raising the age limit for dependents to remain on their parents’ health care benefits.

He opposed the elimination of the home health care reimbursement, which he said would limit care options for rural Georgians with no physicians in their areas. Isakson, who voted against the health care bill passed in April, has said he believes it will raise taxes and premiums, and cut benefits for seniors and serve as an unfunded mandate for states.

Isakson is running against Georgia Labor Commissioner Mike Thurmond and has dramatically outraised his opponent, with nearly $8 million in his campaign coffers. By comparison, Thurmond had about $117,000 according to the latest disclosure filings. Former President Bill Clinton is scheduled to headline a fundraiser for Thurmond on Thursday in Atlanta.

Isakson also weighed in on the Georgia governor’s race. When asked about whether an ethics probe into former Congressman Nathan Deal’s business dealings could hurt him in November, Isakson called such issues “a political ploy.”

“I think everybody’s judged on the totality of their career and what people know about them,” he said. “I think Nathan is a very fine person and has done a great job. Ethics get used politically.”

Isakson, who is vice chair of the Senate ethics committee, would not comment on the specifics of the Deal inquiry, but he said that the ethics card is inevitably played in politics.

“Whether there’s something there or not ... a lot of people use it to try to make somebody look bad where it’s undeserving,” Isakson said. “Until the issue is adjudicated, nobody should be painted as something that they are not.”

Deal is facing off against Democrat Roy Barnes in the November general election.

Isakson in 2008 had considered running for governor — a job he had sought unsuccessfully before — but instead decided to seek re-election to the U.S. Senate.