Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship

What is the Presidential Action?

The recent presidential order redefines and restricts the criteria under which individuals born on U.S. soil can be recognized as American citizens. Specifically, the order states that children born in the U.S. to parents who are either unlawfully present or are in the country on a temporary basis (such as tourists or students) will not automatically be granted citizenship. This marks a significant shift from the previous understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States.

Background or Context with Statistics and Source References

Historically, the Fourteenth Amendment has been a cornerstone of U.S. civil rights, ensuring citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States. However, the interpretation of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” has been debated. According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2020, about 250,000 children were born in the U.S. to unauthorized immigrant parents. Critics argue that this has been misused as a loophole for gaining citizenship.

Why This Action Was Taken

This executive action was initiated to address concerns over what some perceive as ‘birthright citizenship abuse.’ The administration argues that the automatic citizenship provision has been exploited, leading to unauthorized residency and other legal complexities. The aim is to ensure that U.S. citizenship remains a privileged status that necessitates clear legal qualifications.

Short and Long-Term Impact on People

Short-term impacts:

• Immediate confusion and legal challenges for parents in the affected categories.
• Increased workload on immigration and legal systems to process and verify claims.

Long-term impacts:

• Potential decrease in automatic citizenship grants, altering the demographic composition.
• Shifts in policy could affect bilateral relations, especially with countries whose nationals are significantly affected.

Performance/Impact Parameters to Measure Success

To effectively measure the success of this presidential order, several parameters should be considered:

• Reduction in the number of birthright citizenship claims from parents falling under the specified categories.
• Legal benchmarks: Monitoring the outcomes of inevitable legal challenges and the order’s ability to withstand judicial scrutiny.
• Administrative efficiency: The ability of relevant government agencies to implement the order without causing undue backlog or violating rights.
• Public opinion: How perceptions of U.S. citizenship and immigration are influenced by these changes.