Lately there has been much discussion of undocumented immigrants and anchor babies. But, in the midst of that discussion, the fate of legal immigrants is not being discussed. Why do I mention that? Well, because if the citizenship of natural-born citizens can be removed under some type of specious argument, then the citizenship of those who are not natural-born cannot be guaranteed. Actually, the citizenship of immigrants is not guaranteed. Various immigrants have had their citizenship removed for “cause.” No, I do not agree with that.
If you go to this page, you can find the various reasons why USA judges have found reason to remove USA citizenship from various immigrants. In general, it is because they lied on their citizenship application. If you look at legal history, sometimes the reasoning is rather slim. For instance, see the case of Aldo Mario Bellei. “Born in Italy to an Italian father and an American mother, Bellei lost his citizenship for not moving to and living in the United States for at least five years prior to his 28th birthday; see Rogers v. Bellei.” In other words, USA courts have held that an USA citizenship acquired by a non-natural born citizen may be revoked. There are various other cases that you can look up.
We now have Republican candidates who are openly saying that, even if you are born in the USA, you may not have the right to be an USA citizen. Given the prior Supreme Court case history, this means that those of us who are immigrants are even more liable to be declared non-citizens than those who were born here. So, when I look at the Republican statements on the 14th amendment and anchor babies, it pushes me even more toward voting a straight Democratic ticket.
Why do I say that? Well, among the reasons given for various of the revocations of citizenship is lying on your citizenship application. Did I lie on my citizenship application? Yes, I did. Wait, you lied on your citizenship application? Yes. How did you lie on your citizenship application? Well, it was the late 1960’s and I smoked marijuana and dropped some LSD. So, how does that impact me?
Well, one of the questions in the citizenship application is about drug usage. And, I lied. I did abuse drugs. I lied on my citizenship application. Therefore, according to previously examined law, I could have my citizenship revoked and be forced to leave this country. The fact that I was drafted and served during the Viet Nam conflict does not count. The fact that I work for the Veterans Administration does not count. I lied on my application. Any judge could rule that I am not worthy of citizenship and that I must turn it back in and be returned to Cuba.
This brings me back to my original point. Messing with the Fourteenth Amendment has a series of effects that can, and will, lead to a series of evil outcomes. What sounds good from a politician’s mouth about “anchor babies” does not sound so good when you apply the implications of that policy to the existing immigration structure. Does this means that we should ignore the undocumented immigrant crisis? No! But, it does mean that any changes that are made need to be cognizant of the unfortunate ways in which the policy may be applied.
So, as you look at the various candidate proposals, I ask you to look at my story and see whether the particular proposal may lead to my being expelled from this country. Whatever solution you reach may it be a solution that allows me, a veteran, a person working for the Department of Veterans Affairs, to continue to serve the country that I now consider my country.
It’s the 14th amendment that deals with citizenship, rather than the 4th. But yes, people need to very carefully consider the implications of making changes to such law. For instance, do we have and do we want to create extensive family registries to document who was born to whom? How far back do we go before someone’s citizenship is legally deemed conclusive?
That way lies limpieza de sangre.
I recently became interested in genealogy and have spent quite a bit of time looking up my ancestors. Found out my ancestors all came over in the late 1500s to early 1600s from England and Scotland mostly…and mostly for religious freedom! Well, that makes me 2 things: a long term real ‘Murican ….and an immigrant. My family did not come from the Natives who were living here all along, they came to find a better life and that makes me an immigrant too. We are ALL immigrants and we should remember that instead of this knee-jerk response to fear of change.