Citizenship
By John S. Pinto We Asians, as immigrants to the United States, should be very interested in the immigration laws of our country as well as attempts to change them. It is commonly assumed that children born within the geographical borders of the United States are automatically citizens of the United States, even if their parents were illegal immigrants. Furthermore, it is commonly believed that this is an explicit command of the Constitution. However, this belief is wrong. Edward Erler, professor of political science at the State University of California in San Bernardino, has researched the issue. He starts with the framers of the Constitution. They were well versed in British common law, from which the laws of the United States were derived. The concept of citizenship was unknown under British common law. William Blackstone in his “Commentaries on the Laws of England,” speaks only of birthright citizenship. Birthright is the relationship of a master and a servant. Thus, all who are born within the protection of the king (or queen) owe the ruler perpetual allegiance as a debt of gratitude. This debt is intrinsic and cannot be forfeited. America’s founders rejected this doctrine of perpetual allegiance. The Declaration of Independence proclaims that the colonists are absolved from allegiance to the British Crown. James Wilson, a signer of the Declaration on Independence and later a Supreme Court justice, said that under the Constitution of the United States, there are citizens, but no subjects. The idea of citizenship is a creation of the Declaration and the Constitution and it is based on the consent of the governed, not on an accident of birth. So, what is citizenship? The Constitution of 1787 mentions citizens, but does not define citizenship. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified and a definition of citizenship was written into the Constitution. The amendment reads: “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.” Thus there are two components to citizenship: 1) Birth or naturalization in the United States and 2) being subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. During the debate over the Fourteenth Amendment, Senator Jacob Howard of Ohio assured the assembly that the new language was not intended to make American Indians citizens of the United States. While they were born within the geographical boundaries of the country, they were not subject to its jurisdiction. Senator Howard, who authored the citizenship clause of the amendment, went on to say that jurisdiction, understood as allegiance, excludes not only Indians but persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens or those who belong to the families of ambassadors or ministers. The phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” means owing exclusive political allegiance to the United States. Also, in 1868, Congress passed the Expatriation Act, which permitted American citizens to renounce their allegiance and thus renounce their citizenship. This was a new way of looking at the idea of allegiance and citizenship. The idea of the Expatriation Act was characterized as a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. An 1898 U.S. Supreme Court decision held that a child of legal resident aliens is entitled to birthright citizenship. This conclusion was not consistent with the way the Constitution was written. The majority of the justices just said that this was the way it was and is, and did not base their decision on constitutional grounds. The idea of birthright subjectship had been repealed by the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, but the court at the time seemed not to care. Here in the U.S., we take the rule of law very seriously. Even when a court makes bad decisions, we still follow their rulings as the law! As immigrants, it is important for us to understand the principles and precedents of citizenship. When we become naturalized citizens, this understanding will help us become better citizens. |
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