The right to U.S citizenship for immigrants- 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment of the United States constitution required the granting of citizenship to all individuals born and naturalized in the U.S and this, included recently freed slaves (Cornell University Law School 1). It was ratified on July 8th, 1868 and extended to prohibiting thedenial of anyperson their life, property or liberty without the due process of the law. In addition, it guaranteed equal protection of the law to entities under its jurisdiction. The provisions of the amendment have been subject to debates as they provide for citizenship for individuals born within the borders of the United States. The paper underlies exploring the subject of restricting the affordance of citizenship to only children of legal immigrants.
The judicial precedence in the American courts accrues any individual child born under the United States borders the right to citizenship. It acclaims the fact that any individual under the jurisdiction of the U.S – a statement considered ambiguous- is accorded equal protection afforded by the 14th Amendment. A case of the United States vs. Wong Kim Ark in 1898, on the legality about the citizenship of a child of legal Chinese immigrants transcended the current understanding or comprehension of the 14th Amendment as concerns jurisdiction and awarding of citizenship to children in the U.S borders (Foster 1). It can be argued that any entity in the borders of the U.S is under the laws governing its citizens, illegal or legal and have to conform to the authority extended to the United States government through the constitution. It can thus be concluded a solid reason why the right of naturalization of legal immigrant children should continue to exist. It is protected by the U.S law that super cedes any other laws or convictions forwarded to infringe this right.
It is the personal responsibility of the government of a country to protect equally the rights of individuals within its borders irrespective of their national status and allegiance. The international law provides for the inhabitation and offering asylum to refugees running for their lives in foreign countries. It creates a responsibility of foreign authorities to host undocumented individuals in the countries. Children are a vulnerable demography and need special protection as extended by the 14th amendment. There exists a social responsibility to protect this helpless group of individuals who are born in social disadvantage. The law embraces jus soli- the English conferment of the right to citizenship by birth. It can be argued that it is the right of any country to protect its sovereignty is above all supreme thus preventing the overrun of a country by foreign individuals who come motivated by diverse agendas that may not imply allegiance to the state. However, it cannot be done in a way that infringes the basic human rights of an individual to seek protection.
Works Cited
Cornell University Law School. Legal Information Institute- 14th Ammendment. n.d. 13 April 2016 <https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv>.
Foster, Howard. What Conservatives Get Wrong about Birthright Citizenship and the Constitution. 21 August 2015. 13 April 2016 <http://www.nationalreview.com/article/422894/birthright-citizenship-fourteenth-amendment-constitution-supreme-court>.