Opinions Battle: Should children of illegal immigrants be considered United States' citizens?
Heck NO!!
by EMANUELA CURTALE
Issue date: 2/8/10 Section: Opinion
With the Edict of Caracalla, the Roman Empire granted universal citizenship to all free residents of the empire, regardless of their descendants.
The edict allowed for an increase in the number of people available to taxation, and men eligible to serve in the legion.
No doubt, the law was very fruitful for the Empire.
Embracing a wider array of individuals eligible to citizenship is certainly profitable to a country.
In the United States, birthright citizenship applies to any individual born in the country, without distinctions of ethnicity or the parent's origin or legal status.
Although this is lucrative to the country in many ways, it has resulted in confusion on whether children of illegal immigrants should be eligible for citizenship or not.
Although the parent's legal or illegal status is certainly not the child's fault, I disagree with granting them citizenship so easily.
If we follow the Constitution literally, children born in the United States from undocumented parents should be undeniably conferred citizenship regardless.
However, if illegal immigration is so fiercely controlled at the borders, then it should be kept under control within the country.
It's unjust for the child of an illegal immigrant to be given citizenship so easily.
When students or foreign workforce who enter the United States legally have to go through strenuous paperwork and bureaucracy, followed by even more demanding procedures to acquire permanent residency.
France, which also has a significant flood of illegal immigrants, doesn't grant citizenship at birth.
The child must request citizenship from the government at the age of 18, which results in deportation if legal documentation isn't completed.
I believe this is probably the best method of dealing with children born from illegal immigrants.
It gives the child enough time to apply for legal status, and penalizes those who still live illegally.
The edict allowed for an increase in the number of people available to taxation, and men eligible to serve in the legion.
No doubt, the law was very fruitful for the Empire.
Embracing a wider array of individuals eligible to citizenship is certainly profitable to a country.
In the United States, birthright citizenship applies to any individual born in the country, without distinctions of ethnicity or the parent's origin or legal status.
Although this is lucrative to the country in many ways, it has resulted in confusion on whether children of illegal immigrants should be eligible for citizenship or not.
Although the parent's legal or illegal status is certainly not the child's fault, I disagree with granting them citizenship so easily.
If we follow the Constitution literally, children born in the United States from undocumented parents should be undeniably conferred citizenship regardless.
However, if illegal immigration is so fiercely controlled at the borders, then it should be kept under control within the country.
It's unjust for the child of an illegal immigrant to be given citizenship so easily.
When students or foreign workforce who enter the United States legally have to go through strenuous paperwork and bureaucracy, followed by even more demanding procedures to acquire permanent residency.
France, which also has a significant flood of illegal immigrants, doesn't grant citizenship at birth.
The child must request citizenship from the government at the age of 18, which results in deportation if legal documentation isn't completed.
I believe this is probably the best method of dealing with children born from illegal immigrants.
It gives the child enough time to apply for legal status, and penalizes those who still live illegally.
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