What concerns me about birthright citizenship
I am a proud American citizen. I was born in America to parents who were also born in America and were proud American citizens. My father served as a medic in World War II. My mother was part of the administrative support for the installation of the AT&T telephone system in the Chicago area. They were hard working, strong American citizens.
My father had no medical experience before he enlisted in the Army during the war, but the Army trained him to assist in surgeries while stationed in England. He did so gladly, if more than a bit queasily at first, but it was his duty. He also accompanied injured soldiers back home aboard the hospital ships, only to return to England to continue to help injured soldiers survive. He did this for years while seldom being able to return to visit his wife. He got special short leave to come home to meet me, his firstborn child, when I was six months old. My mother had to give birth to me without her husband and endured the stress of raising me alone while my father was overseas. The sacrifices my parents made as dedicated Americans, supporting the war effort to keep America and the free world safe from the terror of Hitler, were repeated by many American families throughout the war.
My father’s father legally immigrated to America from Italy, long before the war started. My father’s mother was born in America to Italian immigrant parents. My grandparents were proud to give birth to Americans. They learned English and spoke of themselves as Americans. They considered America, not Italy, their home.
My mother’s parents both legally immigrated to America, coming by sailboat from Poland and suffering the death of more than half of their fellow passengers before landing in America. They considered themselves very lucky and they learned to speak English and raised their children as Americans. Polish was infrequently spoken in their home. They were happy to be Americans.
We respected and enjoyed both the food and traditions of our grandparents’ national heritages, but my father always told us that we were not Italian or Polish — we were Americans.
My parents worked hard to keep us fed, clothed, and educated. Neither my parents nor my grandparents ever received any government handouts. It was considered honorable to work and support yourself and your family.
Birthright citizenship was established by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which states:
“Section 1: 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. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
That was a noble, admirable, and necessary amendment, originally intended to protect the freed African slaves and their children born in America.
But birthright citizenship has been expanded to include all children born in America. I am happy we welcome babies born in America into American citizenship. I look forward to those babies living in America and contributing to the success of American life for themselves and for their fellow American citizens.
What I question is illegal immigrants who enter America and have children who are living essentially through the graciousness of American taxpayers. Many live on government handouts which ensure their housing, food, and education. Illegal immigrants shouldn’t expect to get free handouts while deriding America and Americans for who we are and for living in a country of laws.
I believe that if you come to America — legally or unfortunately, illegally — you should want to be American. If you have children born in America, you should want them to be Americans and pledge allegiance to both our flag and our country.
That means respecting our laws and our law enforcement officials. It means considering America your home and respecting our western values as your own. You should still value your heritage and your language and your traditions, but not at the risk of ignoring or devaluing American laws, the English language or American traditions or values. Why do immigrants come to America if they don’t want to be Americans? That is my concern with birthright citizenship: Some immigrants use America as a source of cash to either send back to their country origin, at the expense of American taxpayers; or, in some cases, as a source of education only to be used in their home countries, some of which have demonstrated hatred for America.
In short, we Americans welcome legal immigration. We welcome babies born on American soil as American citizens.
What this individual American does not appreciate is using our freedoms, our Constitution, and our lawmakers to work against American citizens. For some immigrants use our freedoms against us is more than disturbing. For some to even disrupt our public parks, public roads, and public spaces for use for large demonstrations of prayer, when their houses of worship are available for that purpose, is disrespectful of all other Americans.
When some refuse to become Americans but make it known that they want Americans to convert to their ways of thought, then mass immigration and birthright citizenship cause me very serious concern.
Carol Dubas is the author of Tripod: How Two Teenage Boys Inspire An Entire Community. She lives in Lower Southampton Township.
