Dear Editor,
The proposal to end birthright citizenship for all persons born
in the United States demonstrates that immigration restrictionists
are set on dismantling the Constitution as they build border
walls.
Dear Editor,
The proposal to end birthright citizenship for all persons born in the United States demonstrates that immigration restrictionists are set on dismantling the Constitution as they build border walls. Ending birthright citizenship is an affront to a legal cornerstone whose origin in Anglo American law dates back to 1608 and that was made part of our Constitution in the 1860s. While in the past, the doctrine fell victim to antipathy to African Americans, Indians and Asian Americans born in the United States, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear in 1898 that all persons born in the United States are our citizens.
For individuals, having a U.S. citizen child is not a bar to deportation nor does it provide any other legal benefits. For Americans, birthright citizenship means that we do not create a permanent underclass of potentially stateless individuals whose only home is the United States. The bill to end birthright citizenship strikes at four centuries of jurisprudence, opens the door to vast restrictions on U.S. citizenship and ignores the contributions, needs and interests of American communities and businesses as they relate to immigration reform. The House of Representatives was wise not to take it up.
John Trasvina
Senior Vice President for Law & Policy
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF)
