Thursday June 12, 2025
  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast
Versión Español
PanAm Post
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
PanAm Post
No Result
View All Result

Home » Should citizenship be a birthright?

Should citizenship be a birthright?

José Azel by José Azel
June 16, 2020
in Columnists, Opinion, Society, United States
FacebookTwitterTelegramWhatsapp
citizenship citizenship
When exactly do we become citizens? (Photo: Flickr)

In the Americas, we take birthright citizenship for granted. But in fact, the right to citizenship of anyone born in the territory of a state is rare. Currently, only some thirty countries in the world offer jus soli (right of the soil) citizenship. In the rest of the world, citizenship is passed by descent based on the principle of jus sanguinis (right of blood), which means having at least one parent who is a citizen of that country.

In Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, all nations grant citizenship on some form of jus sanguinis protocols. In patriarchal societies the child’s citizenship may be determined through the father; in matriarchal societies through the mother; and some countries may require both parents to be citizens. For most of the world, where you were born is not the deciding factor for citizenship.

RelatedArticles

CNN Fake News: The Network’s Efforts to Justify Its Actions May Be Worse than Its Actual Flawed Reporting

CNN’s audience in 2024 was the lowest in its history

December 21, 2024
The silence of the Democrats will be the main course on Thanksgiving

The silence of the Democrats will be the main course on Thanksgiving

November 28, 2024

Not only is birthright citizenship rare, it is also in decline. In recent years some countries have been transitioning from jus soli to jus sanguinis citizenship. Malta, India, New Zealand, Australia, France, and Ireland have all transitioned to jus sanguinis citizenship. It is not clear why the only countries granting birthright citizenship are in the Americas. But in 2013, the Dominican Republic changed the country’s jus soli laws retroactively, stripping some 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian descent of their Dominican citizenship.

Currently, the United States offers citizenship on both principles of jus soli and jus sanguinis, and also by naturalization. The Framers of the U.S. Constitution did not define national citizenship. Therefore, in the United States, birthright citizenship stems from the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, 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.”

Historically, this wording was used to override the 1857 Court decision (Dred Scott v. Sanford) that “African Americans were not citizens of the United States…” And, although Supreme Court cases have essentially affirmed U.S. birthright citizenship, neither the Supreme Court nor Congress has clarified whether the Fourteenth Amendment language applies to the U.S.- born children of parents illegally in the country. The often cited 1898 Court decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, stands only for the narrow proposition that the U.S.-born children of lawful permanent resident aliens are U.S. ctizens. It does not address the issue of U.S.-born children of non-lawful residents. Thus, the issue remains an open question.

The numbers are alarming. The Pew Research Center estimates that 7.5 percent of all births in the United States -about 300,000 births per year- are to unauthorized immigrants. Pew also calculates that there are 4.5 million children who were born to unauthorized immigrants that received citizenship by virtue of having been born in the United States. Given the magnitude of the problem, and the fact that most countries in the world have rejected birthright citizenship, it may be a policy worth revisiting.

A main argument against automatic birthright citizenship is that, the granting country gives up its sovereign right to decide who can become citizen. Birthright citizenship disempowers the existing citizenship.

A just government relies on a social contract freely entered into by free citizens. Thus, the scope and authority of that social contract extends only to those citizens that have agreed to be bound by the provisions of the contract. This is the essence of citizenship. So, as the argument goes, a social contract where anyone can join in defiance of the community of existing members is no social contract at all. Birthright citizenship is inherently self-contradictory.

Ultimately, states will develop practical citizenship policies to accommodate their changing economic and security needs. Consider Vatican City, where neither jus soli nor jus sanguinis applies. The only way to obtain Vatican City citizenship is to work for the Holy See, or by special Papal dispensation. The Vatican argues vehemently for the rights of immigrants, but ironically, it is the only place in the world where one can become a citizen only at the pleasure of its Head of State.

José Azel

José Azel

José Azel is a scholar and author. Dr. Azel‘s latest book is “Reflections on Freedom.”

Related Posts

CNN Fake News: The Network’s Efforts to Justify Its Actions May Be Worse than Its Actual Flawed Reporting
Ideology

CNN’s audience in 2024 was the lowest in its history

December 21, 2024
The silence of the Democrats will be the main course on Thanksgiving
Culture

The silence of the Democrats will be the main course on Thanksgiving

November 28, 2024
These are the 21 individuals sanctioned by the U.S. for fraud and repression in Venezuela
Elections

These are the 21 individuals sanctioned by the U.S. for fraud and repression in Venezuela

November 27, 2024
Can Socialism Compete “On Equal Terms” in the Field of Ideas?
Argentina

Can Socialism Compete “On Equal Terms” in the Field of Ideas?

November 20, 2024
In one of Palermo's most iconic venues, Paul Corban played for an intimate audience, surrounded by flickering candles and the rhythmic murmur of Malbec glasses clinking together.
Culture

The Paul Corban Experience: A Night to Be Thankful For

November 17, 2024
The Democratic campaign organized celebrity concerts in the seven key states, all of which they ended up losing. (EFE)
Columnists

The Only Thing Kamala Harris Won in the Election: Debt and Hollywood’s Useless Support

November 12, 2024
Next Post
Socialism Fail, Market Prices

Socialism Is Doomed to Fail, Because It Lacks Market Prices

Subscribe free and never miss another breaking story

  • Venezuela
  • Mexico
  • Colombia
  • Chile
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Podcast

© 2024 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Regions
    • South America
    • North America
    • Central America
    • Caribbean
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Opinion
  • Podcast
  • Authors
  • Contact

© 2024 PanAm Post - Design & Develop by NEW DREAM GLOBAL CORP. - Privacy policy

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. Privacy and Cookie Policy.