Birthright Citizenship In America

Birthright Citizenship
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Abstract
This paper evaluates birthright citizenship, which is an important factor of consideration in nations today. It is evident that birthright citizenship, which is known as jus soli in the Latin language, is viewed as a controversial issue by various political figures because of the right to claim citizenship that those of foreign parents born in America has, more so, according to the constitution. In the paper, the trends in birthright citizenship are investigated as well as the impact that it has had not only on different nations but also on children, their overall well-being, which is ultimately significant considering that their childhood well-being impacts their well-being

as adults. The paper, therefore, concludes that there is a great need for the congress to revisit the policies involved with birthright citizenship in America to remove its loopholes and reduce its adverse effects.
Birthright Citizenship
Every year, illegal immigrants and refugees continue to bear children in the United States. Despite their parent having foreign citizenship or is in the country illegally, children born under these circumstances are automatically recognized as American citizens by the executive arm of the government. Similarly, children who are born to a parent who was in the country on short terms such as tourists and other aliens are given American citizenship. Surprisingly, a vast number of countries do not offer automatic citizenship by virtue of being born within the country’s borders. It would be imprudent not to note the implications of birthright citizenship in the United States. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore the issue of birthright citizenship in all its given aspects and ultimately provide a suitable conclusion on the topic. After an exploration of the issue, the paper concludes that the Unites States Congress should revisit the Citizenship Clause, clarify its scope, and close loopholes that promote the exploitation of the clause.
Trends in Birthright Citizenship
According to Bauböck (2010) who studied immigrant control policies in the world, in the 194 countries in the world, only 30 of them grant automatic citizenship to children born to parents who are foreigners.

There are only two countries with developed economies that allow automatic citizens to children born to foreign parents. The countries are the United States and Canada. No single country in Europe offers this kind of automatic citizenship. Bauböck (2010) also notes that there is a global trend in which states that initially offered this kind of automatic citizenship are choosing to end them through repealing the policies. The Supreme Court of America has through its rulings maintained that children whose parents are permanent resident aliens are protected under the citizenship clause. The same Supreme Court has however never made a decision on whether the provision applies to children whose parents are in the country illegally or on a temporary basis.
Impact of Birthright Citizenship
When looking at the impact of Birthright Citizenship, this paper assesses what the United States and the children who were given permanent citizenship stand to gain or lose for the Citizenship Clause.
Positive Growth and Development for the

Children
According to Rotunda (2010), there is a perceived benefit of giving an automatic baby citizen once it is born inside the American border. The statement applies in particular to a child whose parents are in the country illegally, are refugees, are fleeing war, or are seeking asylum. Due to the innocent of a baby and lack of the ability to decide when to be born, the children should not be left without a nationality. Denying the children citizenship is a form of punishment to them for what their parents did, the atrocities happening in their country, and a disregard of the pact the United States had with the United Nations. Rotunda (2010) further states that since babies are not guilty of the problems that befell their parents, they should be given the opportunity to rise from the underclass and have a stake in the country. The circumstances surrounding their birth should not be the basis that denies them the chance get an education, start a business, and contribute to the society. The fear of facing deportation will curtail efforts of these children from seeking a brighter life since they will know that they will eventually have to leave their businesses and livelihood behind.
Chain Migration
From another point of view, birthright citizenship brings about another concept known as Chain migration. Chain migration happens when a baby who is born to illegal immigrants in the United States attains the age of 18 years and decides to sponsor a spouse to the United States as well as unattached kids he or she sired. When the child is 21, he can bring over his or her parents as well as any other siblings. In the country, family backed arrival accounts for a huge part of the growth of the nation’s immigration levels (Shachar, 2009).
Birth Tourism
Another implication takes the form or foreigners taking advantage of the existing permissive birthright policies through Birth Tourism. Some parents do benefit from the automatic birthright citizenship policies to add a United States passport holder to the family. The concept of birth tourism has also been turned into an industry. Some companies offer birth tourism services for parents who want their children to have American citizenship citing that being an American has many advantages. The concept works by traveling to the United States on a tourist visa when one is two to three months to giving birth. When a child is born, he or she is registered as an American citizen. Chain migration repeats itself in that as the child grows he can legally sponsor his or her spouse, unmarried children or nuclear family members to the United States.
Welfare Benefits
Another implication is manifested through the allocation of welfare benefits.

Most American taxpayers are critical of their taxation being used for the well-being of other people. Additionally, most Americans think that welfare benefits are not allocated to illegal immigrants. However, their perception is not informed since immigrants still receive welfare benefits in the form of Medicaid and food stamps used on their American-born children. An enormous amount of welfare benefits costs is still consumed by illegal immigrants through the birthright citizenship policy. Even through the country places barriers towards illegal aliens with the aim of preventing their access to federal welfare programs, they will still access it through the birthright citizenship loophole. The financial implication of the policy can be manifested in the fact that the occurrence costs the taxpayer in Los Angeles up to one billion dollars annually without including the costs of education (Shachar,

2009).
What are the requirements of the Law regarding Birthright Citizenship?
On face value, the laws of the country do not specifically allow the birthright citizenship for babies born to permissible and illegitimate foreigners. No clause in the country’s laws stipulates how children of foreign persons must be handled when it comes to citizenship question. It is only that the 14th Amendment of the laws gives citizenship because of naturalization or by birth to persons subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. A loophole in the law exists now that the Amendment does not provide a definition on when a foreigner should be regarded as a subject to the United States authority.
Similarly, no statute was enacted by Congress, which particularly directs and makes it permissible for a child born in the United Stated by an illegal immigrant to be granted citizenship. The birthright is a policy by the executive arm of government and is not under any federal regulation. It is, therefore, accurate to state that birthright citizenship policy has become a policy without becoming law. Since the practice has never gone through any standard legislative process, it has been officiated without input from the general public or their representatives in Congress (Shachar, 2009).
However, some Supreme Court cases denied some person citizenship even though they were born in America. John Elk, an Indian was denied citizenship with the judge stating that he was not subject to the authority of the country at birth (Elk v. Wilkins, 1884). In another case, Dred Scott was denied citizenship by virtue of being in the country having been enslaved by his captors for many years (Dred Scott v. Sandford, 1857). In the United States v. Wong Kim Ark case, the Supreme Court decided that a baby given birth of Chinese descent inside the borders of America becomes a citizen.
Considering Change
The past few decades have seen countries that initially permitted birthright citizenship to shift their stance as a means to illegal migration. The step has also been taken due to the pressures of a citizen who seeks to have more control over their societies’ future. These countries include the United Kingdom, India, Malta, Ireland, and Australia. The last 20 years has also witnessed congressional hearings to end birthright citizenship. Since the year 1993, a bill meant to end birthright citizenship has been brought to Congress.
Conclusion
Given the adverse impacts and the welfare of the innocent child born in the United States by a non-American parent, the United States Congress needs to revisit the policy, clarify its scope, and close loopholes. Given that the policy did not go through the due process before being practiced, lawmakers should revisit the policy and amend it to fit the interests of both American citizens and the innocent children born.

References
Bauböck, R. (2010). Studying citizenship constellations. Journal of ethnic and migration studies, 36(5), 847-859.
Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94, 5 S. Ct. 41, 28 L. Ed. 643 (1884).
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, 15 L. Ed. 691, 15 L. Ed. 2d 691 (1857).
United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649, 18 S. Ct. 456, 42 L. Ed. 890 (1898).
Shachar, A. (2009). The Birthright Lottery: Citizenship and Global Inequality. Harvard University Press.
Rotunda, R. (2010, September 16). Birthright citizenship benefits the country. Retrieved April 08, 2017, from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-16/opinion/ct-oped-0916-birthright-20100916_1_birthright-citizenship-illegal-aliens-alien-parents