Should the children of Illegal Aliens be given US citzenship?

Question

The current policy of the US government is to give citizenship to the children of illegal aliens based on what I believe is an incorrect interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Many illegal alien women come to this country and get free medical care, and then they apply for welfare for their child. If they are caught by ICE, they state that you can't deport me because my child is a US citizen! This really pisses me off. What is your opinion?

Answer 1

This is a HUGE loophole that somehow just gets ignored by both sides. This is how we get taken advantage of every single day and the costs are enormous.

The actual fact is that the author of the citizenship clause of the 14th amendment , Senator Jacob Howard, argued to have the phrase "and subject to the jurisdiction of" because he wanted to make it perfectly CLEAR that the mere ACCIDENT OF BIRTH in the United States was NOT sufficient to grant citizenship.

During Reconstruction Howard participated in debate over the first clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, arguing for including the phrase and subject to the jurisdiction thereof specifically because he wanted to make clear that the simple accident of birth in the United States was not sufficient to justify citizenship. Howard said:

[The 14th amendment] will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers accredited to the government of the United States, but will include very other class of person
Despite his intention the amendment has since been interpreted to guarantee citizenship to every person born in the United States.

Citizenship and the children of tourists and illegal immigrants

The provisions in Section 1 have been interpreted to the effect that children born on United States soil, with very few exceptions, are U.S. citizens. This type of guarantee—legally termed jus soli, or "right of the territory"— does not exist in most of Western Europe, Asia or the Middle East, although it is part of English common law and is common in the Americas. The phrase and subject to the jurisdiction thereof indicates that there are some exceptions to the universal rule that birth on U.S. soil automatically grants citizenship. Two Supreme Court precedents were set by the cases of Elk v. Wilkins[2] and United States v. Wong Kim Ark[3]. Elk v. Wilkins established that Native American tribes represented independent political powers with no allegiance to the United States, and that their peoples were under a special jurisidiction of the United States. Children born to these Native American tribes therefore did not qualify for automatic citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. Indian tribes that paid taxes were exempt from this ruling; their peoples were already citizens by an earlier Act of Congress.

In Wong Kim Ark the Supreme Court held that under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a man born within the United States to foreigners (in that case, Chinese citizens) who were lawfully residing in the United States and who were not employed in a diplomatic or other official capacity by a foreign power, was a citizen of the United States.

Under these two rulings, the following persons born in the United States are not "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and thus do not qualify for automatic citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment:

Children born to foreign diplomats;
Children born to enemy forces in hostile occupation of the United States;
Children born to Native Americans who are members of tribes not taxed (these were later given full citizenship by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924).
The following persons born in the United States are explicitly citizens:

Children born to US citizens;
Children born to aliens who are lawfully inside the United States (resident or visitor), with the intention of amicably interacting with its people and obeying its laws.

The Court in Wong Kim Ark did NOT explicitly decide whether U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants are "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States" (it was not necessary to answer this question since Wong Kim Ark's parents were legally present in the United States at the time of his birth). However, the Supreme Court's later ruling in Plyler v. Doe [4] stated that illegal immigrants are "within the jurisdiction" of the states in which they reside, and added in a footnote that "no plausible distinction with respect to Fourteenth Amendment "jurisdiction" can be drawn between resident aliens whose entry into the United States was lawful, and resident aliens whose entry was unlawful."

Bottom line is the Author of the citizenship clause made it perfectly clear what his intent was.
The Supreme Court has NEVER ruled one way or the other. (how could they rule when the author made his intent clear? say Oh he really meant to say something different)

Note that the Court decided that American Indians were not granted automatic citizenship under the 14th amendment

So there you have it. My take is the 14th amendment DENIES citizenship to the offspring of illegal aliens for the reasons listed

Answer 2

Whether a child was born to legal or illegal parent, the children should be treated equal.

If parents are the burden to the society by using the resources or causing troubles, they should be paying the dues back to society like everyone else instead of deport them back.

Answer 3

No. Children born here to US citizens or to most people who are here legally should be given US citizenship (visitor visas and visa waivers are legal but should not apply in this situation). People coming here illegally and having children then trying to hide behind their child's status are exploitation their child. They intentionally come into this country, knowing it is illegal and use the rights of the child to try to blackmail (for lack of a better term) the country into allowing them to stay. People do not want to break up the family and people don't want to keep the child here (as a citizen with rights to be here) and deport the law-breaking parents thus making the child a ward of family members here legally or a ward of the state. I believe the child's status as far as citizenship should be based on the parents citizenship status. This will prevent their abuse and exploitation of the system in this way and will hopefully deter as many from coming here illegally. It amazes me that people who immigrate here legally have to prove they won't be a burden on the state and are not eligible for many benefits (which makes sense) but that people who come here illegally are handed these things and it is taken for granted. This only encourages them to continue to violate our laws and exploit the legal citizens of this country.

Answer 4

I agree with you. The 14th amendment was installed at a time where the US didn't have many people...well, that has changed. I am tired of illegal aliens taking advantage of the US and that is all that they do. Americans can and DO do those jobs that Mexicans do...except that would cause big business to actually pay a LIVABLE wage.

Answer 5

Poster above makes some interesting points

Two Supreme Court precedents were set by the cases of Elk v. Wilkins[2] and United States v. Wong Kim Ark[3]. Elk v. Wilkins established that Native American tribes represented independent political powers with no allegiance to the United States, and that their peoples were under a special jurisidiction of the United States. Children born to these Native American tribes therefore did not qualify for automatic citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.

With recent demonstrations in the streets with participants waving Mexican flags and shouting their reconquista crap, it is clear that they have no allegiance to the United States,It is a known fact that most illegals work under the table and pay NO TAXES. It would be logical to infer then that their offspring should not qualify for automatic citizenship either.

Case closed send them home!!!

Answer 6

The currant interpretation of the 14th amendment is a bastardization of its real intent.It was to protect the citizenship rights of the newly freed slaves and to prevent them from being sent back to Africa.To give them their rights as Americans.It was never intended to become a loop hole for illegal alien children.It needs to be amended or repealed.
T-bone a lot of those convicts are also illegal aliens.

Answer 7

A lot of White immigrants were also undocumented and/or arrived without visa, even if we go all the way back to the Mayflower. We know the history of Blacks whose ancestors were brought here as slaves, certainly without papers or visas. Since we all consider ourselves, even born under those same circumstances you describe above, to be American citizens how can we feel it's in our power to deny these other immigrants of the same right?

Answer 8

they should be taken away from the parents and put into the spacial forces of the Obama Brown Shirts , they are perfect candidates if taken at berth , they would have no family ties , no emotional ties , no patriotic ideals , no place to think of as home and they could be Obama's Storm Troopers that could ride roughshod over all of the nostalgic fogies that want to cling to the old America , you know the unenlightened citizens that refuse to embrace Barack Obama's brave New World Order

Answer 9

Kids of Illegal Aliens should be deported too One parent must be a US Citizen for all to stay

Answer 10

No they should not be given birth-right citizenship. I think it is sick that pregnant immigrants come here illegally, use our emergency room for free healthcare, have the baby on our soil and then demand to stay.

The 14th amendmant is misunderstood completely. That is why I wish our supposed Republican president would have ended illegal immigration so it could have been challenged in the courts and proven to be constitutional.

Answer 11

the kids can stay, but the illegal parents need to go home. if they care so much for their kids and want to give them a better life as a US citizen then they should be willing to give them up for adoption to a loving legal american citizen.

afterall it's what's best for the children. children shouldn't be raised by lying illegal aliens.