Washington Post: The little-known history of birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Thursday about birthright citizenship. Today we explore the history of this constitutional right and meet the man who has become an unlikely spokesman for saving it.
Norman Wong and Birthright Citizenship
Norman Wong is an American. He is 75 years old and lives near San Francisco. His great-grandfather was Wong Kim Ark. Wong Kim Ark was born in the U.S. in the 1800s. His parents were from China. But the U.S. government did not want to let him come back after he visited China.
Wong Kim Ark went to court. The case went to the Supreme Court in 1898. The court said he was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the U.S. This helped create the law of “birthright citizenship.”
What is birthright citizenship?
If you are born in the U.S., you are a citizen — no matter where your parents are from.
Now, President Trump wants to change this rule. He signed an order to stop birthright citizenship for children born to people who are in the U.S. illegally or on short-term visas. Many people and states disagreed. They went to court.
The case is now going to the Supreme Court. Norman Wong is speaking out to protect his great-grandfather’s legacy and to support birthright citizenship for future generations.
Sources and further reading:
Garrett Epps’s law review article about the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment has everything you’ll ever need to know about the history of birthright citizenship in the US article
The Library of Congress has a great map showing which countries of the world offer unconditional birthright citizenship like the US map
The 1861 map of the US we use a few times in the piece is itself a strikingly rich document that I could stare at forever 1861 map
Some other original documents we use in the piece:
Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship EO 14106
The Ipsos poll containing the question about support for ending birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants: IPSOS Survey
The Dred Scott decision article
President Andrew Johnson’s letter vetoing the 1866 Civil Rights Act article
Congress’s debates over the 14th Amendment (we quoted from page 498) debate
The 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act article
The Wong Kim Ark decision article
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Also see:
Center for Civic Education: Birthright Citizenship part 5 of the Citizenship at the Founding playlist
Rep Ted Lieu: Birthright citizenship is as American as apple pie.
VOA Learning English: News Words: Executive Order | Birthright Citizenship
VOA News: What is birthright citizenship?
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