Birthright Citizenship
Should the children of illegal immigrants gain citizenship at the expense of American taxpayers? The 14 amendment provides citizenship to “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Because birthright citizenship causes higher rates of illegal immigration, higher taxes, and less opportunities for children of U.S. citizens, it should be abolished.
The benefits of U.S. citizenship are very attractive to foreigners. Immigrants from
all over the world come to the U.S. to give birth to U.S. citizens. The parents of these children
will sometimes stay illegally in the U.S. to raise their children, which increases the number of
illegal immigrants in the U.S.
While sometimes
parents stay illegally to care for their children, they also leave them behind to be what are commonly referred to as anchor-babies. Leaving behind anchor –babies is a commonly used long term strategy to gain citizenship. These children can collect welfare, apply for Medicare and other benefits of citizens while they mature. Once they reach the age of 21 they are able to apply for a visa for their parents to legally live in the U.S. This strategy can be commonly seen in China where women are brought to the U.S. to give birth to their children in what’s called birth tourism. Anchor babies are being left in the U.S. is increasing numbers. The large numbers of children collecting benefits are putting a strain on the American taxpayers. Not only is the welfare higher but when the children become older they also can apply for college tuition. This makes it harder for the children of legal immigrants and legal Americans to get into college. The fourteenth amendment when used correctly is a great thing, but its overuse and abuse by illegal immigrants is hurting everyone. Higher rates of immigration, higher expenses for welfare, and higher taxes in general can be linked to birthright citizenship. Legal immigration is great and should without a doubt continue, but the abuse of birthright citizenship could ruin the American dream for everyone.
The Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868 and stated that “all persons born…in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.” The Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark first recognized the doctrine of birthright citizenship. In this case, the defendant argued that because he was a citizen of the U.S. because he was born in California and had lived there for twenty-one years. The U.S. District Attorney argued that while Wong Kim Ark may have been born into the U.S., he was not subject to its jurisdiction since Worn Kim Ark, through his Chinese parents, were subject to the emperor of China. Not persuaded by this argument, the U.S. Supreme Court held that children born in the U.S. to resident aliens are U.S. citizens, which created the concept of automatic birthright citizenship. This concept has been debated within the U.S. Supreme Court and in different levels of the judiciary system, but to this date there is no comprehensive approach on solving the ambiguity of what constitutes a ‘natural-born’
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of United States addressed the issues related to citizenship of the country and their fundamental rights for equality. This amendment is regarded as one of the most significant clauses in the US constitution since it provides the definition for citizenship, deals with the rights of the US citizens, and defines the state’s obligations to protect the rights of its citizens. This amendment was passed in the year 1866 by the Congress following the Civil War. The primary goal of this amendment was to provide equal civil and legal rights to all US citizens, including the African Americans. The citizenship clause in this amendment attracted lot of attention and debates owing to its far-reaching impacts on the citizenship status of various communities and immigrants who are staying in the country. This amendment was an important part of the reconstruction program (NALEO, 1).
Currently, there are 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the United States; 6 million of those immigrants are Mexican-born (Preston). Within that undocumented population are individuals who were brought to the States as children. These individuals have grown up in the American culture and consider themselves American, but struggle with being treated as second class citizens due to their undocumented status. On June fifteenth of 2012, the Obama Administration announced the executive order Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This order will allow immigrants who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children to apply for work permits and avoid deportation (Hennessey and Bennett). President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is not only beneficial to it applicants but also to the United States as a whole.
Among the problems that face our nation, illegal immigration seems to be one of the most regarded. “In 2005, there were 12.7 million people classified as refugees in the world. Refugees are forced to migrate because of danger in their own country.” (Cath Senker 12) Some push to end it while others want to have it legalized or less strict. There are many points that are argued on this topic. Although immigrants support the economy, they should have to pay taxes. Illegal immigration should be stopped or slowed until the legalization process and borders are improved. Due to the fact, that taxpayers are the backbone of our economy and nation as a whole.
Early statistic provide from scholar article has proved that since the 1970s to 80s, Census by state has documented a high population of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Passel and Woodrow indicate that the estimation of undocumented immigrants is 2.06 millions in 1980s; most of the undocumented immigrants are Mexicans. By the year 2000, more than 1.6 million captures were along the U.S border. In southern California, “with almost 2.5 million unauthorized immigrants residing in the state, California is home to almost one fourth of the nations unauthorized” (Gonzales 473). This group can split into two major types, which are people who enter U.S illegally and people who enter through admission with their overstay visa.
A Path to Citizenship “What makes someone American isn’t just blood or birth but allegiance to our founding principles and faith in the idea that anyone from anywhere can write the next chapter of our story.” - President Barack Obama. The United States is the melting pot of the world. The great American country was built on immigration. Look around, so many people have ancestors that risked everything to come to the United States to make something of their lives, and the lives of their children.
The change in demographics in Mexico is labeled as one of the larger reasons for the increased number of immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico. Ojeda cites that, over the past forty years, one-third of the immigrants come due to high birth rates in Mexico. Howe...
Among world regions, the number of unauthorized immigrants from Asia, Central America and sub-Saharan Africa rose between 2009 and 2014. The number of immigrants from Mexico has steadily declined since 2007, the first year of the Great Recession, but Mexicans remain more than half (52%) of U.S. unauthorized immigrants. ”(Jeffrey Passel). “Population growth is influenced by three factors: mortality (the death rate, which has been steadily decreasing in the U.S.), birth rates or fertility (children per woman) and net immigration (immigration minus emigration). “ (USPS).
We don’t realize how hard it is for immigrant parents to get their children education, and we judge and hate on something we have never been through. I guess it’s true you never know someone’s pain unless you go through it. Not everyone has the same privileges as others, some have to work twice as hard to try to give their children an opportunity towards an education on the contrary some American families have it simpler. I not blaming people who have families who were born here or say it’s wrong, but many people tend to affront children of immigrant parents and feel like they have the equitableness to say they aren’t suitable to receive public education.
anchor babies are mainly used because the mother does not want to come here legally, and does not want to attempt to it legitimately. anchor babies are protected in this country under the 14th amendment which states that all people born in the united states are given instant citizen ship, this includes united states military outposts, and military bases.. Anchor babies,Birthright citizenship, and the 14th amendment Ricardo Govea Section 3 “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they
The term “anchor baby” refers to a child born to a noncitizen mother in a country which has birthright citizenship, especially when viewed as providing an advantage for family members seeking to secure citizenship or legal residency, as defined in the Race and Racism in the United States: An Encyclopedia of the American Mosaic. There have been many disputes on whether children of illegal immigrants should be granted citizenship at birth. Most immigrants come to the United States to have a better life for themselves and their families. By coming to America illegally, it causes society to suffer for their greediness. Recently, I thought children shouldn’t be penalized for their parent’s actions, but that’s not how i see the issue anymore. There is a great chance that anchor babies will destroy America’s future and ruin our economy.
Birthright Citizenship is the practice in the United States which of granting automatic citizenship to children born in its boarders and territories . , the citizenship of persons born in the United States has been controlled by its citizenship clause since the adoption of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution on July 9, 1868, which 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 . Presidential candidate Donald Trump has recently proposed ending birthright citizenship. I certainly do not agree with trumps call to end birthright citizenship for many reasons which include; the hurting of national interest, unfairness,
According to the article “5 facts about immigration in the U.S” at least one in every five student have one unauthorized immigrant as a parent. If immigrants cross to have anchor baby. An anchor baby is used to refer to a child born to a noncitizen mother in a country which has birthright citizenship. Imgrants are giving an advantage to america's future. Immigrants should able to stay in this country to stay with their children. 2016 presidential candidate has disagreed with anchor babies and wants to take away the citizenship away from children. According to Mr. Donald Trump about anchor babies he says"I don't think they have American citizenship and if you speak to some very, very good lawyers -- and I know some will disagree, but many of them agree with me -- and you're going to find they do not have American citizenship," (Donald Trump: “Anchor babies” aren't real american citizens). This has caused a very controversial debate because in the 14th amendment is states “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed” which mean that they are citizens. Those children have been born in this country and should have the right to be called American
Matt Sheehan of The Washington Post describes that birth tourism in the U.S. is most practiced by those from Asian and Latin American countries. These “tourists” frequently stay in secretive, usually illegal, hostels and homes where they can pay a certain fee and be taken care of during their birth while also remaining hidden from U.S. officials. Popular locations for these foreigners to find this sort of help include Miami (especially for Russians and other eastern Europeans), Los Angelos, and New York City (Kessler).
Will and in this essay the author challenges the citizenship status of children born to illegal immigrants. Will argues that the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to any person born in the United States, is being misinterpreted. He explains how this misinterpretation leads to the actual act of illegal immigration. For example, by essentially rewarding the children of illegal immigrants with an American citizenship Will demonstrates how this provides an incentive for illegal immigration. The author makes clear the idea that when the 14th Amendment was written in 1866 it could not have included illegal immigrants since that concept did not exist at that time. He continues by using Indians as an example of people not included in the 14th Amendment since Indians and their children owed allegiance to their tribes. Finally, the author uses a decision by the Supreme Court in 1884 that declared both person and country must consent to the citizenship; therefore, if the source is illegal then the child should not be considered a