Citizenship And The Rights Of Legal Personhood

Citizenship can be defined as the position or status of being a citizen in a particular country (Oxford Dictionaries, 2016). This definition is not very broad, nor does it cover the many aspects of citizenship that exist in the 21st century. It is not only about being a legal citizen of a particular country, it is also about being a social citizen. You can be a citizen of Australia but choose to live elsewhere for the majority of your life. In terms of citizenship it is relevant on a political and social level. If you are actively contributing to the country in which you live in some ways you are fulfilling your duties as a citizen.

Citizenship is the legal status of an individual living within a particular country. Having citizenship gives people rights and responsibilities as well as a sense of belonging to a community. Citizenship can influence the lives of people as it gives people a sense of identity and how to live their life.

Citizenship is when a person is accepted as a member of a society due to customs or laws. Another way to think about citizenship is that one does not truly become a member of a society until said person has managed to learn and master the tools and trades that allow the society and its members to go on with their everyday lives.

The Birthright Citizenship Amendment is one that has caused controversy. Should  a person that is  born in the US, regardless of whether the parents were here temporarily, or illegally be considered an American citizen? The 14th Amendment states “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside”, ( Spalding, 2010). The interpretation of this amendment has caused the controversy.

Over a century ago, the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution was implemented to grant citizenship to individuals born within the country. This was the first time that it was defined what it means to be a citizen in the U.S. While the amendment was created to address the citizenship of slaves, it is currently under speculation in regards to granting U.S. citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants (Gans, 2012). While there have been many arguments to place restrictions or eradicate granting children of undocumented immigrants U.S. citizenship, the constitutional right remains the same: if you are born on U.S. land, you are a citizen (Angelo, 2013). This paper argues that the birthright citizenship of U.S. born children of undocumented immigrants should continue to be granted based on the underlying principles of the 14th Amendment and the possible implications of ending birthright citizenship. First, this paper describes birthright citizenship and the 14th Amendment, as well as its use in several Supreme Court cases that are significant to this issue. Then, various implications of eradicating birthright citizenship are discussed. Before discussing the possible consequences of eradicating birthright citizenship, it is imperative to discuss the history and principles underlying it.

According to the Oxford dictionary the term citizenship can be defined as: “The state of being vested with the rights and privileges, and duties of a citizen.” In the short story ‘Borders’ by Thomas King the term citizenship is of main focus. Through the many borders that are presented within the story, King argues that citizenship overlooks culture and heritage, instead focusing on a single border: that being where the individual resides. The short story is narrated from the young boy’s perspective, as him and his mother struggle to cross the Canadian-American border to visit the young boy’s sister Latitia. The young boy and his mother are not able to cross the border

“We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America.” Without the right that the Constitution brings us, we wouldn’t have rights therefore the United States wouldn’t be a good place to live in. The Constitution brings us the right of freedom of speech (first amendment) , the right to bear arms (second amendment), and the right to protect against unreasonable government actions such as search and seizure of person property (fourth amendment). Being an American citizen means that you have rights that they would like you to fulfil. As an American citizen is it voluntary to vote, but others are required such as obeying the law and paying taxes. The Magna Carta, John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government, and the Petition of Rights explains the rights and the responsibilities of an American citizen.

Citizenship is defined as a being a citizen or a person owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state. Citizen preferred for one owing allegiance to a state in which sovereign power is retained by the people and sharing in the political rights of those people. The concept of which in one of its earliest was given to us by the Romans, who had just began to understand the importance of a populace contributing to the decisions of its own fate. Modern American citizenship as we know it today was defined for us in the constitution of this nation by the founding fathers. Citizenship as they had envisioned it even back then was not free, but came with a price. A citizen was

Are you a citizen? Maybe you are. Maybe you aren’t. A citizen is a legally recognized subject. Citizenship is a status given by the government. Rome and Athens had very different systems of citizenship. But which system, Athens’ or Rome’s, was better? Some say it was Rome.

What does it mean to be a citizen? What does it mean to be a part of a country? I believe that being a citizen is much more than just living in the same country for a set number of years. There are several ways that the word "citizen" can be defined. For example, individuals may say that when you do good deeds and make your country a better place you are considered a citizen. When you work hard to donate to your country you are showing that you believe in While there are other individuals believe that being a good citizen means portraying kindness, generosity, a helping hand; what some people may refer to as a servants ' heart. Of course, different countries will have different interpretations of

Birthright citizenship is when citizenship is automatically granted to children who are born in the United States of America. Basically, all children born in the US receive automatic citizenship regardless if their parents are born in the US or from other countries.

This from of citizenship arose in the Treaty of West Phalli that ended the one hundred year war. The treaty stated that each state had economic sovereignty and control over its’ territorial boundaries. This form of citizenship is a way in which to delineate individuals of one nation from another. The concepts for which this form of citizenship is based on were created over four hundred years ago and are no longer an adequate way of looking at citizenship. Globalization and interdependence among various nations has challenged the idea of national sovereignty.

The scorching sun shimmered against the immigrants’ sweat, as they passed the border between the two connecting countries, the United States of America, and New Mexico. An half empty gallon of water, accompanied by a couple of crackers, and a large bag of clothing. As they wander on the other side of the border, their life will be different than the one they have left behind; will it be wonder, or despair for these illegal immigrants? Illegal immigration is an issue which has followed the United States for centuries to come, and with illegal immigrants by its side, gradually increasing the situation. The illegal immigrants found in the United States should be granted the path to citizenship.

Joseph Carens (an advocate for open borders) makes reference to Locke in pointing out that government is formed to “enforce the rights which individuals already enjoy in nature” . If, as according to Locke, individuals can migrate in nature (“dispense of their possessions and persons… without asking… or depending upon the will of any other man”), then logically government cannot violate this right to migrate because government is formed to protect natural rights. This syllogism justifies Carens’ claim that “citizenship gives rise to no distinctive claim” in terms of the right to migrate. Does this mean that a society or government has no control over restricting its citizens, such as only allowing citizens to vote? No, it only implies that natural rights exist for individuals and not only for citizens, and we have justified that the right to migrate is a natural human right. Therefore, citizenship is not a valid means for closing borders. To close borders would be to contradict Locke’s notion that “all the power and jurisdiction [should be] reciprocal”, and would thus violate the natural rights guaranteed in the state of nature.

Become a citizen of one of the best nations in the world is a privilege that not many people have. I’m talking about the United States of America. If you are an U.S natural born citizen you have rights and responsibilities that protect you based on the Declaration of Independence and the U.S Constitution. People who are in the position to become U.S. citizens gain the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities of citizenship as natural born American with the only restriction that they can’t be eligible for President of the United States.