End birthright citizenship. This remains the biggest magnet for illegal immigration. By a 2:1 margin, voters say it’s the wrong policy, including Harry Reid who said “no sane country” would give automatic citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants.
As with most of what Mr. Trump says, its kicked up a dust storm which will apply to a few subjects we will cover in both 2305 and 2306 - anything related to the 14th Amendment really. Just so we know, this is the problematic part of the 14th Amendment - and it just happens to start the thing:
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.
It goes on to require the states to treat people equally before the law, but we will touch on that later this semester. Rather than link to the news stories regarding the controversy, it might be better to be clear about the controversies associated with the it. The Wikipedia on Birthright Citizenship in the United States is worth a look partially because it details what does and does not qualify one to be a citizen of the United States - besides being born in the US to two citizen parents - that's the easy way. The most helpful primer I've found is an NPR piece called 3 Things You Should Know About Birthright Citizenship.
- Click here for it.
It also links to a great piece written by the Congressional Research Service detailing issues associated with birthright citizenship.
- Click here for it.
Some highlights from the story - and things to tuck away for future lectures. I'll post a few related items separately.
1 - There are two types of birthright citizenship: one based on place of birth, one based on the citizenship of the parents. British common law - which governed the colonies - used the former. Meaning that the type if citizenship stated in the 14th Amendment has historical roots.
2 - Until the 14th Amendment, the states determined who was and was not a citizen. The U.S. Constitution mentions, but does not define citizenship, or its requirements. It makes no requirement on the part of the states either and would not until the 14th Amendment.
3 - The 14th Amendment was written to overturn the Dred Scott decision which denied citizenship to African Americans whether slave or free. They were also unable to take cases to court - which kicked Scott's lawsuit to the curb. It is commonly argued to be one of the key precursors to the Civil War.
- Wikipedia: Scott v. Sandford.
4 - The 14th Amendment was ratified in large part to over turn Scott v Sandford. It was ratified in 1868 and is a companion to the 13th and 15th Amendments, which were ratified in 1865 and 1870 respectively. All three significantly expanded the powers of the national government over the states - which is a topic we hit in various parts of both 2305 and 2306. One of these powers involved the national government telling the states who gets to be a citizen. This ties the concept of national citizenship with the concept of state citizenship.
- Wikipedia: Reconstruction Amendments.
5 - The Supreme Court first ruled on the meaning of the 14th Amendment in the case of US v Ark, which applied the language to a man born in San Francisco from Chinese parent, left the country and then was denied the ability to return. The Supreme Court ruled that he was a citizen based on its reading of the language of the amendment and that he had the right to return.
- Wikipedia: United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
6 - Birthright citizenship based on birthplace is very common in the counties of the western hemisphere while blood relationship is generally required in the rest of the world. The argument is that the people that live in the nations of the west are largely immigrant and are based on shared values. Older nations can trace themselves to shared ethnicity.
