Has citizenship right at birth been abused by foreigners?
If you read my very first post today, you already know I fled my home country because of Erdogan's dictatorship. I lived in Belgium for over a year. Many people probably did not even know the name of the Prime Minister in that small and peaceful country. The mood felt so apolitical. Yet, there was no future for me in a non-English speaking, bilingual country and I finally settled in the US, but at what a time? I had lived in the US during graduate school at Temple University and visited several states over the years. Not in my wildest dreams, I could have imagined a POTUS who calls the media the enemy of the people. I often joke that it must be my luck that at a time that the US has become my 'chosen home' , an eccentric personality, to say the least, is ruling the strongest economy and the country in the world.
In Turkey, we were used to waking up to an at least one shocking news or remark coming from the President, but for Americans it was a new reality. Now, I guess everyone got used to waking up to strange tweets from Trump in the early hours of the morning. Today's bombshell was his promise to end a constitutional right that is enjoyed by all residents and even foreigners: citizenship at birth.
Trump was wrong to claim that the US is the only country to grant citizenship at birth in the first place, but probably because American citizenship is the most appealing one among those with similar laws, people assume it is the only one. Fortunately, it is not easy to override and/or violate the constitution in the US. I do not think it would be easy to change the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to all who are born in US soil since 1868, but it is an attractive promise to Trump's base few days before the midterm elections.
Commentators have been saying all day long that the constitution cannot be amended by executive order. The point I'd like to make is a bit different though. When I shared this story with immigrant and foreigner friends of mine, they all said that it is not really fair for people to travel to the US specifically to give birth so that their kids could become US citizens. Even in Turkey, it is a common practice among the wealthy to give birth in the US. I assume many from the less developed parts of the world follow the same route. I heard stories that some less affluent Turks leave the country after their babies received US passport without paying their medical bills and the rent during their short stay in the US. In other words, many people believe that this right is open to abuse by foreigners and that naturally cause discomfort.
As an immigrant who has still been spending a lot of money, time and effort to become naturalized in this country, I always thought it was a sweet privilege to have US citizenship by birth. Given the problems of being the citizen of an undemocratic country, I can understand why people want to take advantage of this right, but it is also true that it might be too easy way of becoming a citizen. I never favor tight citizenship laws as in, for instance, Germany. People who somehow legally reside in the US should be able to enjoy citizenship rights for their children. After all, America is a country of immigrants and this is what distinguishes the US from Europe. I love America for its diversity and openness for immigrants. Maybe because I am all too familiar with the difficulties of becoming a legal immigrant in this country, I would like anyone to follow the laws and the rules. In that sense, I find illegal immigration unfair. Sure, there could always be humanitarian crises and exceptions. Asylum is also a human right and should not be denied to anyone with legitimate reasons.
Lately, immigration is one of the hottest debates in the US now thanks to divisive rhetoric of Trump. Yet, in fairness to all, we should be able to discuss various dimensions of immigration and citizenship issue. There is not a black or white response to this matter.
America is beautiful as a country of immigrants and that what keeps it dynamic and ahead of the rest of the world. It should keep attracting the best talents around the world and make all feel welcomed as long as they respect the American values.
In Turkey, we were used to waking up to an at least one shocking news or remark coming from the President, but for Americans it was a new reality. Now, I guess everyone got used to waking up to strange tweets from Trump in the early hours of the morning. Today's bombshell was his promise to end a constitutional right that is enjoyed by all residents and even foreigners: citizenship at birth.
Trump was wrong to claim that the US is the only country to grant citizenship at birth in the first place, but probably because American citizenship is the most appealing one among those with similar laws, people assume it is the only one. Fortunately, it is not easy to override and/or violate the constitution in the US. I do not think it would be easy to change the 14th Amendment that grants citizenship to all who are born in US soil since 1868, but it is an attractive promise to Trump's base few days before the midterm elections.
Commentators have been saying all day long that the constitution cannot be amended by executive order. The point I'd like to make is a bit different though. When I shared this story with immigrant and foreigner friends of mine, they all said that it is not really fair for people to travel to the US specifically to give birth so that their kids could become US citizens. Even in Turkey, it is a common practice among the wealthy to give birth in the US. I assume many from the less developed parts of the world follow the same route. I heard stories that some less affluent Turks leave the country after their babies received US passport without paying their medical bills and the rent during their short stay in the US. In other words, many people believe that this right is open to abuse by foreigners and that naturally cause discomfort.
As an immigrant who has still been spending a lot of money, time and effort to become naturalized in this country, I always thought it was a sweet privilege to have US citizenship by birth. Given the problems of being the citizen of an undemocratic country, I can understand why people want to take advantage of this right, but it is also true that it might be too easy way of becoming a citizen. I never favor tight citizenship laws as in, for instance, Germany. People who somehow legally reside in the US should be able to enjoy citizenship rights for their children. After all, America is a country of immigrants and this is what distinguishes the US from Europe. I love America for its diversity and openness for immigrants. Maybe because I am all too familiar with the difficulties of becoming a legal immigrant in this country, I would like anyone to follow the laws and the rules. In that sense, I find illegal immigration unfair. Sure, there could always be humanitarian crises and exceptions. Asylum is also a human right and should not be denied to anyone with legitimate reasons.
Lately, immigration is one of the hottest debates in the US now thanks to divisive rhetoric of Trump. Yet, in fairness to all, we should be able to discuss various dimensions of immigration and citizenship issue. There is not a black or white response to this matter.
America is beautiful as a country of immigrants and that what keeps it dynamic and ahead of the rest of the world. It should keep attracting the best talents around the world and make all feel welcomed as long as they respect the American values.
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