Anyone born on American soil is an American.
That’s an unconditional right, according to the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
It’s not an exclusively American practice. Worldwide, about 30 nations (mostly in the Western Hemisphere) have similar birthright citizenship policy. Citizenship based on where a person is born, is called jus soli, which is Latin for “right of the soil.”
But jus soli is primarily a New World right. Today, there are no European nations that grant jus soli. Most countries in Europe use a jus sanguinis policy, which determines citizenship based on having an ancestor who is a citizen.
A bill making its way through Congress, if passed, would bring the US more into line with current European birthright policies. But in the wake of the controversy over Arizona’s new immigration policy, any changes to the 14th Amendment would likely become another flashpoint in the debate over illegal immigrants.
“Many countries do not grant birthright citizenship because they have older histories and see themselves as individual nations with individual identities,” explains John Skrentny, Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies and sociology professor at the University of California at San Diego. “Whereas the United States, like many other countries in the Western Hemisphere, began as, and has always seen itself as, a melting pot,” he says.
In recent years, other nations, even if they seem themselves as open to legal immigrants, have taken steps limit the size of any demographic boost based on births to foreigners.
In 1983, for example, England amended its jus soli policy so that children born in the United Kingdom were only granted citizenship if one of their parents was either a citizen or could prove some sort of permanent residency in the country.
And India moved away from granting birthright citizenship in late 2004 to only allowing those born in the country to gain citizenship if both parents are citizens or if one parent is a citizen of India and the other is not an illegal immigrant.
In the US, those opposed to this form of granting citizenship would like to revise the 14th Amendment, which says, in part:
“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 …”
The14th Amendment was passed after the Civil War with the intent of clarifying that former slaves were citizens and entitled to Constitutional rights. Since then, the Supreme Court has consistently upheld that birthright of children born to foreigners in the US, including a 1898 challenge concerning children of non-citizen Chinese immigrants.
How many children of illegal immigrants are born in the US each year?
No one really knows.
But in April, the Pew Hispanic Center, a Washington-based, nonpartisan organization, released a report that estimated the number of children of illegal immigrants, who received citizenship by birth on U.S. soil, has risen by nearly 50 percent from 2.7 million in 2003 to 4 million in 2008. One-third of those children live in poverty, which is nearly double the poverty rate for children of US-born parents.
According to the “Birthright Citizenship Act” bill, which has 91 cosponsors, the proposed changes would affect the Fourteenth Amendment and only grant citizenship “if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is:”
– a citizen or national of the United States; – an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States whose residence is in the United States; or – an alien performing active service in the armed forces (as defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code).”
But getting such changes through both houses of Congress is a long shot.
“I’d be surprised,” if the bill passes, says Tamar Jacoby, president of ImmigrationWorks USA, a national employer group that supports immigration reform that secures borders, strengthens workplace laws, and brings the immigrants already in the country into, and paying into, the system. “This does come up every so often … but it hasn’t gotten much traction in the past.”
However, some immigration reform advocates argue that federal courts have never specifically faced the question of whether children born to illegal immigrant parents should be granted citizenship, according to a recent NPR article.
Legislation aimed to prevent citizenship from being given to U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrant parents is also being pushed at the state level in Texas and Oklahoma.
A list of countries, by population, that grant birthright citizenship includes the United States; Brazil; Pakistan ; Mexico; Colombia; Argentina; Canada ; Peru; Venezuela; Malaysia ; Chile; Ecuador; Guatemala ; Dominican Republic; Bolivia ; Honduras; Paraguay; El Salvador; Nicaragua ; Panama; Uruguay; Jamaica; Lesotho ; Trinidad and Tobago; Fiji; Guyana; Belize ; Barbados; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Grenada; Antigua and Barbuda; Dominica; and Saint Christopher and Nevis.
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France is a good example of a country losing their culture because they’ve been overrun. Won’t be long before France is muslim. Take a look at England. They are heading into a sorry mess as well. Look at Russia and many other countries. Those ragheads are spreading like the plague.
“In recent years, other nations, even if they seem themselves as open to legal immigrants, have taken steps limit the size of any demographic boost based on births to foreigners.”
What? You can actually say this with a straight face while Europe is being overrun with Muslims and the governments there do nothing but cave in to their demands at the expense of their existing citizens?
Also, the 14th Amendment does NOT grant an unconditional right to citizenship for being born here. There is a huge condition in the amendment and that is that the child must be under the jurisdiction of the United States or the state where they are born. Children of illegal aliens are under the jurisdiction of the country where their parents hold their nationality. The author of the 14th Amendment himself even said in writings that the amendment was written to protect former black slaves from being sent back to Africa and did NOT extend citizenship to anyone else.
Joe, love what you’re doing here, however not all of your ‘ducks are in a row.’ Whilst I agree with you 100% on the writing (especially the writers) of the 14th Amendment the biggest problem we face vis-a-vie “jurisdiction” is in the one area that is being long-forgotten (intentionally) and abused to the point where we have women 81/2 months pregnant coming here to deliver so the parents themselves will receive government entitlements. Seriously, from 2004 at 2 million to 2008 growing to 4 million says something about jurisdiction. :roll:
Whenever discussing the 14 Amend. one should also make mention of the ‘Indians/Native Americans’ and why they, although being here before all of us are still mulling around with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Services, now USCIS through Dep. of Homeland Security. :roll:
Which of course is a fall back on the prejudices of those who lived whilst writing and/or concocting this disgusting amendment. They fall back to the “Allegience” Clause stating that an Indians first allegience was to their tribes. How did they know? Did they ask? We both know better than that. :roll:
THE FACT remains that Congress doesn’t want to “touch” the almighty Constitution whether right or wrong with their distorted sense of reverence. Moreover, they don’t want to deal with the consequences. Thanks to all.
“Today, there are no European nations that grant jus soli”
Not true. A few years ago my pregnant cousin and her husband were stationed in Germany and were unable to get to the base hospital in time for the baby to be born so she was born on German soil. The German government would not allow them to leave the country with the baby without filling out a bunch of forms to get approvals that took months because they said the baby was a German citizen.
Notice that Argentina also gives citizenship to people who come and learn the national anthem and swear to be “loyal” to Argentina, with no questions ask on their racial background… The country is getting filled by nonwhites…