The Birthright Citizenship Law Needs to Stay
On Tuesday, a week before midterm elections, Donald Trump announced that he was planning to issue an Executive Order that would annul America’s birthright citizenship law. Trump reasoned, “We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years, with all of those benefits.” This statement is actually false. There are in fact 29 other countries that have a birthright citizenship law. Nevertheless, Trump has called the law, “ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”
Our nation has a long history of granting citizenship to all who are born in the United States, regardless of the citizenship status of one’s parents. The United States is able to flourish especially with birthright citizenship. Although this law may contribute to the influx of undocumented immigrants who come to the United States, our country has a set of values that promote diversity in race, religion, gender, and all other forms of identity. We have mostly maintained a stable democracy for centuries and we take pride—well, many of us do—in the fact that we embrace a healthy diversity.
As we have seen throughout the history, it can be difficult for a country to avoid social unrest as a result of various ethnic groups living in one area. America has a variety of social problems that need addressing, but , in comparison to the level of violence and turmoil seen around the world, our social unrest is diminutive. The only reason we have been able to grow socially is because most Americans value life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, even if our background and opinions are different. Our firm hold on these values makes the United States the ideal country to continue having birthright citizenship laws, because no matter what country someone’s parents hail from, American culture has adapted to embrace all different cultures.
This is not to say America is a utopia. Minority groups still suffer due to systemic oppression. There is no denying, however, that millions of people from different backgrounds have prospered over the course of American history as a result of our values. We cannot turn those who are born on our soil away as we are a country founded by immigrants. Only in nations that have extreme limitations on individual liberty such as Russia, China, Syria, and many more, is it less suitable to have birthright citizenship laws. Yet that is not the case for us.
Not only are we able to function with the birthright citizenship law, but, we should feel a duty to ensure nothing threatens this right. We are a country that prides itself on our freedom, we need to keep sharing this freedom with people of other nations and cultures. Open borders may not be the way to handle our immigration policy, however, going to the opposite extreme of forcing parents to prove their citizenship in order for their child to be a citizen in our country is ludicrous. Our President and those who agree with him on this issue need to rethink their position and re-read the Declaration of Independence as a reminder of our values as a nation.