Birthright Citizenship Free Essay Example, 1250 words

The earlier argument shows that, unlike past times, the American population needs to be controlled. Therefore, strategies for reducing the number of people eligible for automatic citizenship seem like a good place to start. In addition, there is a need for interpretation of the 14th amendment because according to legal scholars, the constitution does not mention foreigners. For example, Professor Peter Schuck of the school of law in Yale University and Judge Richard Posner of the U. S. Court of Appeals have shown that instead of debates about an amendment, there should be more efforts into interpretation (Feere par 2). For example, if the Supreme Court were to interpret the clause to mean birthright citizenship only applies to children with American parents, then the problem would be solved (Grier 42-95). In addition, by direct interpretation of current policy, no children born out of the United States qualify for this citizenship. However, if they are of American heritage, they are eligible to apply for citizenship under naturalization. This raises the question of children born outside the country, but raised within her borders by alien parents, for example, illegal immigrants. We will write a custom essay sample on Birthright Citizenship or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now These children have no documentation and thus in legal terms, they do not exist. Therefore, they have trouble because they do not benefit from any form of legal protection. In addition, they experience difficulties enrolling to schools and thus affecting their future ambitions negatively (Wood 17-52). These children may be the products of illegal immigration, but it is also worth noting that they have no choice in the matter. For example, if they moved into the country as toddlers, they had no control whatsoever. To make matters worse, they grew up in the country and, therefore, have no other place to call home. Therefore, deporting them would be like imposing a foreign home on them (Marr 82-108). On the other hand, visiting parents whose visits ‘coincides with the delivery of their baby have the options of acquiring American citizenship for this child. At this point, they may even return home with their child and much later, claim citizenship rights when they need the offspring to have a future benefit. Eight percent of children born in the United States come from at least one alien parent. This shows that the proposition that people take advantage of the law is real. However, the majority of these births also have the complication of having one parent as an American citizen. The best example is President Obama (Wood 17-52).