Citizenship and the Vote

Citizenship is not just a political issue, citizenship is also a moral issue. When Trump tries to undo the central criteria for citizenship, birthright, to something more restrictive you may find somewhere in your past you could be denied citizenship.  Your future children, grandchildren and generations to come will never be citizens. Where will Trump draw the line on citizenship requirements? Will the new requirements reflect past history on citizenship?

As an example of potential citizenship policies, let’s take Bhutan’s Citizen Act of 1985.  This law requires both parents must proof citizenship before citizenship is granted to the child.  Single women who have had a child out of wedlock where the father refuses to claim the child as his cannot get citizenship for that child.  Providing proof of citizenship of both parents to get citizenship for your children is a burden.  The Bhutanese citizenship law creates a disparity in Bhutanese society with a moral dilemma.  What would this type of citizenship policy look like in your family’s background.

I looked into my past and started with my father who was born in Havana Cuba.  His mother a US citizen, his father a German citizen.  At a young age I have been told my Dad held German citizenship when he and his mother moved to Miami after she divorced his father.  Shortly after this because his mother, a US citizen, acquired US citizenship for my Dad.  This could not have happened in Bhutan because of the citizenship criteria.  Meaning if the US followed Bhutanese citizenship law I would not qualify for US citizenship even though I was born here in the United States and my mom was a US citizen.  If the US enacted a similar Bhutan Citizen Act here in the US it would set off a domino effect in my family.  Me and none of my two siblings would qualify for citizenship just because we were born on US soil.

My daughter wouldn’t qualify for citizenship because I wouldn’t be a citizen.  My sister’s two children wouldn’t qualify for citizenship and their two children wouldn’t qualify for citizenship.  You see where this is going. But what would be the impact?  This type of citizenship policy creates a stateless population.  No one with a stateless status can get a passport, they live in limbo with nowhere to go and become outcast.  Look into your families’ past and see how this type of policy would affect you.

The media keeps hounding that we are protected by the 14^th Amendment of 1868 that legalized citizenship for all persons born or naturalized in the United States. But wait a minute after 1868 some of the Supreme Court rulings have not 100% upheld this idea of birthright citizenship.  In 1876 the Supreme Court rules that Native Americans are not citizens as defined by the 14th Amendment and, thus, cannot vote.  In 1922 the Supreme Court ruled that people of Japanese heritage are ineligible to become naturalized citizens.  In the next year, the Court finds that Asian Indians are also not eligible to become naturalized citizens.  Unfortunately, the US has a long history of denying citizenship along racial lines even with the protections of the14^th Amendment leaving Trump wide open to change the definition of what constitutes citizenship.

When Trump changes birthright citizenship we can just add this to the list of law suits against Trump and the Federal Government.  The Washington State Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, has filled 33 law suits with a coalition of other State Attorney Generals all across the country for similar reasons. Since the beginning of the Trump presidency US policies have been tied up in the Judicial system starting with the Muslim Ban.  No wonder Trump and conservatives in these last two years have stacked the deck with conservative Federal Judges.

The only way to turn the tide on this conservative movement and preserve what we consider equal citizenship is to get out and vote a Democratic ticket this coming Tuesday.  Read up on the candidates and initiatives make an educated decision don’t just mark a box.  May I suggest not deciding on the voter pamphlet information alone but google the candidates and the initiatives find out what the debate is on all issues.  As Joy Reid from Am Joy said “Voting is not just a political decision it is a moral decision.” This has never been truer than in Tuesday’s election.  Exercise your citizenship privilege and responsibility, vote, not just for you, but for your family, your neighbors, and your community.  Vote as if your life depends on it.