U.S. Citizenship Lesson 12

Overview Key points: 1) What is a citizen? 2) The History of U.S. Citizenship. 3) Ways to become a U.S. Citizen. 4) U.S. Immigration Policy.

The Basis of Citizenship What is a citizen? Members of a political society- a nation. We all have certain rights, duties, and responsibilities. The U.S. government, and other democratic governments, draw their power from their people Therefore the people, or citizens, must perform their duties of citizenship: pay taxes, obey the law, and be loyal to the U.S. government.

The History of U.S. Citizenship: The Framers of the U.S. Constitution left the determination of citizenship up to the states and never specified who was a citizen or not. Pre Civil War: Most Citizens are White Europeans Example: Dred Scott Decision - 1857 Dred Scott, an enslaved African American in Missouri, sued his master’s widow for his freedom. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that African American’s, whether free or enslaved, were not U.S. citizens and therefore could not bring forward a legal suit in court.

Post Civil War The 14th Amendment changes U.S. citizenship requirements to: “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.”

Ways to Become a Citizen By birth - jus soli - “Law of the Soil” - you were born in the U.S. By blood - jus sanguinis - “law of blood”- citizenship by birth to an American parent By naturalization: -applying for citizenship: Must be in U.S. legally Must be of good moral character Must declare their support of the U.S. gov't Must be able to read, write, and speak English Must be able to pass the naturalization test

Citizenship (cont.) Collective naturalization - members of a whole group become citizens through an act of congress. Expatriation - giving up one’s citizenship to become a citizen of another country. Denaturalization: The loss of citizenship due to fraud or deception is called. In addition, in 2000, Congress passed the Child Citizenship Act (CCA), which allows any child under the age of 18 who is adopted by a U.S. citizen and immigrates to the United States to acquire immediate citizenship. Also, if you are the a minor child and your parents are naturalized, you become a citizen, as well.

Illegal Immigration An illegal immigrant is a person residing in the U.S. illegally. Throughout the history of the United States many people have immigrated illegally to the U.S. Some of the 1st colonists came illegally! The debate over immigration policy has been ongoing for hundreds of years.

U.S. Immigration Policy Throughout its history the U.S. has changed its policy as to who can become a U.S. Citizen. Today's debate over what our immigration policy should be is nothing new.

Congress Controls Immigration Policy Examples of how Congress changes immigration policy: Johnson Act of 1924 - restricted immigration by lowering the number of immigrant allowed into the country each year to 165,000 . Also established country quotas. Immigration Reform Act of 1965 - abolished the quota system. Immigration and Reform Act of 1986 - allowed for illegal immigrants to become permanent residents and citizens (Amnesty). Immigration Act of 1990 - by 1990, 85% of immigrants were coming from Asia and Latin America- congress wanted to make sure only skilled and educated immigrants came to the U.S.

A Nation of Immigrants Let's look at different types of Non- citizens in the U.S.: Resident alien - is a person from a foreign nation who has established permanent residence in the U.S. Non resident alien - a person from a foreign nation who expects to stay in the U.S. for a short specified period of time Enemy alien - is a citizen from a nation that the U.S. is at war with. Refugee’s - are people fleeing to escape persecution or danger in their own nation.

Immigrants in the U.S. All “aliens” are protected under the Bill of Rights if they are living in the U.S., even if they are not citizens. Must pay taxes, obey the law, and be loyal to the U.S. government. California has the highest number of immigrants - in 1998, there were 170,126; with New York in second with 96,559.