Second Class Delivery: The Elimination of Birthright Citizenship As a Repeal of "the pursuit of Happiness"

Authors

• Sara C. Barnhart, University of Georgia School of Law

Publication Date

2008

Abstract

In recent years, immigration has been at the forefront of political debate in the United States. In response to concerns over undocumented immigrants, some members of Congress have proposed the elimination of birthright citizenship. Eliminating birthright citizenship means that citizenship at birth would be based on the citizenship of one's parents rather than one's birth in U.S. territory. This Note demonstrates the historical nature of this U.S. immigration controversy by tracing similar movements throughout history. It documents the roots of the common law doctrine of birthright citizenship, followed by a discussion of the protection of citizenship status the Fourteenth Amendment's framers envisioned when they crafted its Citizenship Clause. Scholarly debate and relevant Supreme Court precedent are summarized while applying the Citizenship Clause to the situation of children of undocumented immigrants. The Note discusses motivations behind a repeal of birthright citizenship and the policy arguments against such a decision. It then rebuts the argument that birthright citizenship can be repealed by statute rather than by Constitutional amendment. The Note concludes with the determination that the effort to repeal birthright citizenship is a political tactic that does not address the challenges of the United States' current immigration debate. Finally, the Note asserts that elimination of birthright citizenship should not be part of U.S. immigration reform because it contradicts the valuable American tradition of giving every person born in the United States the opportunity to succeed as part of this great country.

Recommended Citation

Barnhart, Sara C. (2008) "Second Class Delivery: The Elimination of Birthright Citizenship As a Repeal of "the pursuit of Happiness"," Georgia Law Review: Vol. 42: No. 2, Article 5.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/glr/vol42/iss2/5