Should Birthright Citizenship be Abolished

The Fourteenth Amendment was passed post-civil war on July 28, 1868. It states, all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside (Fourteenth). When it says all this is not excluding any individual based on their skin color, religious beliefs or background. This does not apply to illegal immigrants therefore, it does not make sense that President Trump uses these false facts to rally up and gain support from White Supremacists. The amendment then states the following, no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws (Fourteenth). Then by simply acting against this amendment would be considered unconstitutional because it will be violating citizens' rights. Not only that but the Fourteenth Amendment was passed there were many court cases that provided and reassure people of their civil rights. It cancels the Scott v. Sanford ruling in which the Supreme Court held that African Americans were not U.S. citizens, even if they were free (Fourteenth). There was another case in 1898 in which, the Supreme Court held that when a child is born in America to non-citizen Chinese parents, that child is a United States citizen (Fourteenth). Cases like the ones listed above can be used to provide evidence that there have been previous situations in which individuals have wanted to abolish birthright citizenship to those born in immigrants families. Birthright citizenship is, the practice of automatically granting citizenship to a child born in a particular country, regardless of the citizenship status of the parent or parents (Birthright, 2010). Meaning that no matter what the parent's legal status these individuals is being automatically granted citizenship. And if we ponder on this sentence what makes us qualified to decide someone's legal status based on rules created centuries ago by immigrants who migrated here for a better life. What is the difference between a second-generation Irish American and an illegal alien that's lived here for over 25 years from Colombia? I mean both the Irish and Colombian are here for a better life, one just got lucky enough that they were provided legal status and the other one was not. What exactly makes someone eligible for citizenship most illegal immigrants do not have a criminal record not everyone is a thief, criminal and rapists as our dear President states.

If President Trump's wishes became a reality regarding the abolishment of individuals birthright citizenship. Without a doubt we are all aware who President Trump wants to eliminate from this country and the answer is immigrants specifically Hispanics. The following information was collected in Texas (2017) and it lists the numbers of births by race there were that year 127,533 White, 48,242 Black, 664 American Indian/Alaska Native, 20,385 Asian, and 180,216 Hispanic (Numbers of Birth, 2018). The targeted individuals will have to be the nonwhite ones. But how exactly will this whole shenanigan work? Will individuals be discriminated based on their skin tones? What about the individuals that were already born here and have been citizens all their life will their citizenship be taken away from them and if so, what citizenship will they own? Evidently, this will only impact immigrants and minorities in this country. We will be taking a step back in history and we will be faced with experiences we have seen before. Not only that but this will lead to racial tension nationwide. With President Trump victory of office, we have seen an increase in racial discrimination towards minorities. Indeed, racial discrimination has been tracked since the beginning of this nations, yet since the election of President, Trump people have become to discriminate others openly once again. Here's the thing when someone of power expresses himself in a way to diminish a certain group this gives a racist a way to target and begin to openly suppress that group freely since someone of power is. And that is exactly what will happen if this law became a reality this will be a gateway for those who look differently be targeted by certain racial groups etc. Not only would this affect us a country, but we have seen a decrease economically. For example, just as President Trump took office, how's the slump translates to a cost of $4.6 billion in lost spending and 40,000 jobs, according to an analysis by the U.S. Travel Association (Popken, 2018). This just an example of how actions within the U.S affect not only its people but the economy. This executive order will bring destruction to this country.

Who will be the beneficiaries of this executive order you may ask? Well, this will mostly benefit those who believe in white supremacy and all of Trump supporters that includes neo-Nazis and conservatives. These individuals believe that birthright citizenship has been the result of an accidental interpretation of the Constitution (Cevallos, 2018). The belief that this amendment has been misinterpreted for many years sounds absurd. And those who are making such accusations are those who will consider the beneficiaries in this situation since they will not be harmed by any means. Those who are losers would have to be the minorities and illegal immigrants who have no legal status here in the states. We must acknowledge that the Constitution has been amended to expand rights and increase protections. It is rarely amended to remove existing rights (Cevallos, 2018). The only known case in which an amendment was removed was, was the 18th Amendment, which imposed a federal criminal prohibition on alcohol (Ceballos, 2018). Removing this will not benefit anyone except those who are in full support of this executive law, however, they might not realize how much it would cause them personally. Americans would have to pay for this new bureaucracy, which would be tasked to decide the citizenship of some 4 million babies born in America each year (Stock, 2015). Not only that but because many Americans cannot afford legal help, therefore, Americans would have to pay a $600 tax on every baby born in the U.S. each year (Stock, 2015). Not only that it will also be such a hassle for the whole government first off since, America has no national birth registry, no squads of skilled government lawyers who can determine whether a person's parents hold a particular immigration status at the moment of a baby's birth (Stock, 2015). This will mean that the government would have to establish this. Perhaps, it may seem like this will fix our broken immigration problem, yet it seems like this will cause more problems than it will resolve. Sadly, this is not a solution and this executive order is being used to mask the bigger issue which is that the immigration system is broken. And that is the issue here we have benefited from these minorities and illegal immigrants and while it is said that immigrants do not contribute to this country but if you inform yourself you know that is a lie. Immigrants do not come to this country to steal jobs they come here to make a living in a country that will give them this opportunity, and they do the heavy jobs that most people do not want to do. Trust me if half of these people were given the opportunity to become a citizen they would. And do not believe that illegal immigrants do not pay taxes because there are ways for people without a legal status to pay their taxes.

By now you may know that I am against the abolishment of birthright citizenship. Why you may ask yourself? Well, let's just say I think that by depriving a baby citizenship based on their parent's legal status is monstrous and outrageous. This has been the first time I have heard that, and I never thought that I would hear this from a great nation like ours. This frightens me because if a nation such as this one is starting to decline what assures me that the other nations will not start following our steps. It also saddens me that a nation that has been known as the land of opportunities is only wants to provide those opportunities to a certain individual and discriminating those who do not meet those standards. Who is the president to decide who gets citizenship and who does not? If you are born in the United States this county will be the country, you will proudly represent and identify with. However, if this executive order becomes a reality then this will create a sense of confusion within these individuals because yes, they were born here yet, they did not meet the requirements for citizenship, therefore, they are not considered citizens. Just putting that into words makes it sound ridiculous and absurd it does not make sense to any individual and I do not know why people find this appealing.

In conclusion, this executive order that President Trump wants to pass is a cry help if we allow something like this to occur there will be no way of stopping him. As stated in the Fourteenth Amendment, all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside (Fourteenth). And ALL persons mean every single individual born here in the states no matter what their parents' legal status is period.

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