American Citizenship

14th 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. . .

Born….

Jus Soli• Born in the US or its

territories, or its embassies, or a public ship

Jus Sanquinis• Born of parents, at least one

a citizen who has lived in the US

Naturalized…

Collectively…• Ex-slaves• Inhabitants of acquired

territory

Individually…• Children of naturalized

parents• Foreign adoptees• +18

– Legal entrant– 3-5 yrs resident– English literate– “good moral character”…– Knowledge of history/gov

Loss of Citizenship

• Expatriation– voluntary

• Denaturalization– Court order– Received citizenship by

fraud or deception

• DEPORTATION• Illegal entry• Conviction for a serious

crime• Narcotics violations• terrorism

Resident aliens have most Constitutional rights except….

Congress has exclusive power to determine immigration and naturalization

• Chinese Exclusion Act 1882– also convicts,

lunatics, paupers

• Contract laborers 1885

• Immoral persons and Anarchists 1903

• Illiterates 1917

• Immigration Acts 1921/24

• National Origins Act– Quota w/caps

• Immigration Act 1965– Removed quotas,

raised cap– Special preference

to family members

Recent Acts

• Immigration and Reform Act of 1986– “Amnesty”– Made it a crime to hire the undocumented.

• Immigration Act of 1990– 675,000 annually– “excludable aliens”, not eligible for citizenship

• Illegal Immigration Restrictions Act 1996– Streamlined deportation proceedings– Toughened smuggling penalties– Prevented undocumented from collecting some public benefits– Allowed states to determine eligibility for welfare– Doubled the size of the Border Patrol

Campaign Issue 2012• Obama• The President plans to create a 21st

century immigration system by: • Continuing to fulfill the federal

government’s responsibility to securing our borders;

• Demanding accountability for businesses that break the law by undermining American workers and exploiting undocumented workers;

• Strengthening our economic competiveness by creating a legal immigration system that reflects our values and diverse needs; and

• Requiring responsibility from people who are living in the United States illegally.

• Romney• Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers• Grant permanent residency to eligible graduates with

advanced degrees in math, science, and engineering• Mitt Romney will complete a high-tech fence and

provide the necessary number of border patrol to finally secure our southern border.

• Mitt Romney opposes all “magnets” that entice illegal immigrants to come to our country illegally and stay here. He will establish a tamper-proof employment verification system like E-Verify that will enable employers to hire only those legally permitted to work and deny jobs to those here illegally. This will turn off the jobs magnet that attracts so many unskilled workers to cross the border illegally or overstay their visas.

• Mitt also opposes all other magnets. As governor, he vetoed in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants and opposed driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.

• As governor, he authorized state police to assist the federal government in immigration enforcement.

• Mitt Romney opposes amnesty. Mitt absolutely opposes any policy that would allow illegal immigrants to “cut in line.

Could you become a citizen???

Let’s find out…..