Over a century ago, the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution was implemented to grant citizenship to individuals born within the country. This was the first time that it was defined what it means to be a citizen in the U.S. While the amendment was created to address the citizenship of slaves, it is currently under speculation in regards to granting U.S. citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants (Gans, 2012). While there have been many arguments to place restrictions or eradicate granting children of undocumented immigrants U.S. citizenship, the constitutional right remains the same: if you are born on U.S. land, you are a citizen (Angelo, 2013). This paper argues that the birthright citizenship of U.S. born children of undocumented immigrants should continue to be granted based on the underlying principles of the 14th Amendment and the possible implications of ending birthright citizenship. First, this paper describes birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment, as well as its use in several Supreme Court cases that are significant to this issue. Then, various implications of eradicating birthright citizenship are discussed. Before discussing the possible consequences of eradicating birthright citizenship, it is imperative to discuss the history and principles underlying it. Birthright Citizenship in America and the Fourteenth Amendment Birthright citizenship is a principle stating that people born within the country should be recognized as U.S.
The natural born Citizen clause in Article 2, Section 1 of the United States Constitution has caused much controversy and its meaning has been deeply argued. It may be in our best interest if the clause were to be reworded to make the meaning of the clause clear so there can be no discrepancies, ending
Pongskon Bupphasawan Professor Sharifian Government 2305-75427 June 30, 2017 The Fourteenth Amendment Introduces a Passive Citizenship The 14th Amendment authorizes all the people who is born on the U.S. soil automatically get an U.S. citizenship. Therefore, the 14th Amendment brings thousands of foreigners who desire American residency to give their children birth in the U.S. There are no laws to reject pregnant women to come to the U.S. Foreigners believe they would get a better healthcare and many of them believe to seek American Dream. 1 According to the “Born In The USA: Why Chinese ‘Birth Tourism’ Is Booming In California”, “Chinese women are flocking to the United States — California, in particular — to have children who will grow up as American citizens,” and it reports that “Chinese births in the U.S, but estimates by industry publications projected a total of 60,000 for 2014” (Sheehan). The 14th Amendment should require more process to give a U.S. citizen from birth tourism by requiring the tourists parents enroll in a program that teach about U.S. government, and they will know the duty of American is a must for Americans.
The Fourteenth Amendment provides citizenship or naturalization; also that all children born in the United States become American citizens despite the citizenship of his/her parents. This was ratified in1868.
Constitution. This amendment was to help African Americans with citizens rights and equal representation. The U.S Constitution stated that the 14th amendment said “all person born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” The 14th amendment provided African Americans that was born in the United States equal citizenship with other natives in the U.S. It also limited the power of states that they could not take away the rights of the citizens of the United States.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Amend.html ).
the fourteenth Amendment guarantee citizenship for youths considered in the Unified States whose gatekeepers are not U.S. locals. Some have prescribed that the fourteenth
Becoming a citizen of the United States is a very prolonged process. Not just anybody can necessarily become a US citizen, there are multiple requirements and responsibilities to becoming a citizen, no matter if it is here in the US or any other particular country such as brazil or Germany. Being a US citizen is a special privilege and those who have become fortunate enough to become a citizen in the US should feel extremely lucky and proud. Even though they do become US citizens, they necessarily should not forget about their home country, but at least share the joyfulness of becoming a US citizen. The process of becoming a proud citizen of the Us is not necessarily hard, but you have to have been a decent residence here in the US, this basically means that you had obeyed all of the laws, were a good person with good moral character.
Those opposed to ending the clause in the Birthright Citizenship Amendment will argue that… “The framers' intent was to create an objective basis for establishing citizenship—birth—not a subjective standard left to the whim of a majority. The United States has, for that reason, never struggled like other nations to integrate those born here” (Fitz, 2010). The thought process here is that those born natural citizens of the US from alien parents will always carry the stigma of having been the children of aliens. This could cause more undue injustice towards these people than the founding fathers wanted. After all, they were all alien to this soil.
Life is America’s fundamental right, the freedom to live, pray and work as you so please. Unfortunately, these ideals came at a time when the nation was much smaller, and rights where more easily defined and the country was less diverse. With the great expansion of land and the progression of 240 years, diversity happened rapidly and ideals changed. A perfect example of the always changing American landscape, in 1868 the Supreme Court ratified the 14th amendment, granting natural born citizens American rights, regardless of parental origin. In America today, this ratification is in question, 147 years later. An immigration debate across the United States, is calling for these so called “anchor babies” to be deported. These natural born citizen lives are being threatened on the stance that
Garrett Epps begins to tell a story about about driver speeds along a road over one hundred miles per hour. A police man pulls over the driver and asks him for his license and registration. However, the driver tells the police that he can not produce a license and registration because he is a child of undocumented parents, and according to Trump’s claims, those who have parents who are undocumented are not subjected to American laws. Trump argues that the fourteenth amendment’s citizenship clause does not provide birthright citizenship to the children of undocumented aliens. Section one of the fourteenth amendment tells us that “All persons born or naturalized in the united states and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the state where they reside.” Epps communicates that in one of the policies of birthright of citizenship, to be born in the US gives the birthright of citizenship. However, a small fraction of the legal world, including Trump, are fighting for an improved “original intent” of the fourteenth amendment. These select few argue that undocumented aliens and their children are not subject to american laws. However, as expressed by John Yoo, “almost all aliens in the united states, even citizens of other nations, still fall within our jurisdiction while they are in our territory.” Otherwise they could commit as many crimes as they wanted without the fear of punishment.
Become a citizen of one of the best nations in the world is a privilege that not many people have. I’m talking about the United States of America. If you are an U.S natural born citizen you have rights and responsibilities that protect you based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S Constitution. People who are in the position to become U.S. citizens gain the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities of citizenship as natural born American with the only restriction that they can’t be eligible for President of the United States.
According to the fourteenth amendment website the fourteenth amendment “is currently misinterpreted to give citizenship to children born in the United States of illegal alien parents. These children, via their birthright citizenship, act as anchor babies and can, upon reaching the age of majority, facilitate bringing their extended family into the US in order to obtain citizenship. Although some experts believe that a Constitutional amendment would be necessary to remedy the misinterpretation, many believe that Congressional action would be sufficient and is urgently warranted.” Not until later was it seen “With illegal aliens who are unlawfully in the United States, their native country has a claim of allegiance on the child. Thus, the completeness of their allegiance to the United States is impaired, which therefore precludes automatic citizenship” (Fourteen Amendment). This was basically a warning for immigrants stating they are responsible for their child and they would not become legal just because they were born in the United States and they would both be claimed by their native land. For example, if a woman from Mexico was to come to the United States illegally, at 8 months pregnant, and have her baby they would not just become legal citizens.
In addition, the United States is created by a diversity of immigrant cultures. Currently, “approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States” [Debate pg. 592]. Changing or repealing the fourteenth amendment, will leave many U.S citizens, children of immigrants stateless without an origin of birth. For example, Chinese came to the United States to work as
Children are often caught in the middle when the state decides whether a child’s right to live in an intact family conflicts with its interest in maintaining immigration control. Along with this issue, there is an argument regarding allowing children born in a country to have automatic birthright citizenship, even when their parents may be undocumented.