Protect American Birthright Citizenship

4 min readJun 25, 2023

Birthright citizenship is guaranteed to most people born in America by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Trump vows to end birthright citizenship for children of immigrants in US illegally. — Reuters

Who are a few Republican politicians who benefited from Birthright Citizenship themselves and now want to ban it? Alberto Gonzales (President George W. Bush’s attorney genera)l, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM). — HuffPo

What’s behind the racist Republican nationalism? What is Birthright citizenship? What is the Citizenship Clause? Fourteenth Amendment? What would changing it mean to millions of Americans who may be denied their American citizenship under this Republican scheme? Follow along with this infographic.

Citizenship Clause

Everyone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. The first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment, known as the Citizenship Clause, which declares: “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 reside.”

Without it America would be divided into two castes: citizens entitled to full political and civil rights on the one hand, and a growing percentage of noncitizens whose descendants would be denied those same rights on the other. That was what the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to prevent. The Supreme Court’s decision ensured citizenship for the children of immigrants born in the United States, putting an end to formal hereditary second-class status.

Birthright citizenship has served America well

Birthright citizenship is an important reason the United States integrates immigrants more successfully into its economy and society than do most European countries that limit access to citizenship. And it has prevented many immigrant families from becoming a perpetual underclass of exploited workers.

To protect this constitutional right against attack, we must remember its true origins. Birthright citizenship was forged by a nation that sought to free itself from the legacy of hereditary slavery with the most American of ideas: Regardless of our lineage, we are all born equal. — Paraphrased from Washington Post article

Republican racism

“Birthright citizenship arises from the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, three years after the conclusion of the American Civil War that ended the practice of enslaving Black people in Southern states and overturned a Supreme Court ruling that had held that slaves and free African Americans were not entitled to U.S. citizenship.

The amendment granted citizenship to all persons “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people, and has been interpreted to apply whether or not parents were in the country legally. The proposed executive order, planned for the first day of a second Trump term in office, would require that at least one parent be an American citizen or lawful permanent resident for their children to become automatic U.S. citizens.” — Reuters

TakeAway: Vote for Democrats to protect Birthright Citizenship and the DACA ‘Dreamers’ program.

Deepak
DemLabs

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References:
Why the United States Has Birthright Citizenship — History
Everyone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. Here’s why. — Washington Post
Birthright citizenship in the United States — Wikipedia
14th Amendment — History
What is the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause? — PBS
Trump pledges to end birthright citizenship on first day in office — The Hill
Trump vows to end birthright citizenship — Reuters
Lindsey Graham says he’ll introduce legislation to end birthright citizenship — CBS
Without Birthright Citizenship, We’d Be Missing These Great Americans — HuffPost
Title image of Internment Camp for Americans of Japanese descent — Dorothy Lange