Immigration Issue

[Jorge10]

Ok I have been thinking about the whole citizenship being given to people born in this country question. The people this affects are usually Latin people, mostly Mexicans of course.

The problem with giving citizenship to people at birth and the way things are now, is that the parents dont get citizenship and you have kids who are citizens and parents who are not. This is a problem because assuming people get tougher on immigration you could deport parents of American citizens. Also every once in a while immigration will go and start detaining people at local Mexican supermarkets in the US, you know what they look like they are all over California. Of course if they deport the parents, the kids are kind of screwed because they might be in school and also their spanish stinks so they cant really live in Mexico, so the parents have to comeback here somehow, usually illegally.

Not giving the kids citizenship is too tough in my opinion, I mean they were born here. The problem is that they become citizens and their parents dont. Also giving their parents citizenship is impossible as then people would come over here just to have kids in order to get citizenship.

Anyway I am Mexican, but im here legally and so are my parents, but this birth thing affects a lot of people I know(cousins, uncles). I just dont know where to be on this issue? I cant be against giving citizenship for anyone born here because it just seems to harsh, seems wrong. The problem is that having kids who are citizens of the US and having their parents not even be legal residents of the US seems messed up too. So I figured I would post it in the politics forum and see what people think.

So what do you guys think about people receiving citizenship at birth? For it? Against it? Why?

[BluffTHIS!]

We discussed this recently in this thread, and I will give again my post from there:

Citizenship is different countries is defined either on the basis of the country of birth, jus soli, or on the basis of the nationality of the parents, jus sanguinus. While I am in favor of more lenient immigration standards with respect to persons from our neighbor Mexico, either legal or otherwise in the US, there is no reason that it would be unjust for the US to adopt the standard of jus sanguinus, because non-citizens do not have the right to illegally come here and have children as a possible means to keep themselves in the US. The US besides recognizing jus solis has also recognized as citizens those children born abroad whose parents are both US citizens and one of which has lived in the US prior to the child's birth. So even under the jus sanguinus only standard, the children of US citizens would not be denied US citizenship if born abroad.

Each nation has the right to determine citizenship standards, and nationals of other countries have no right to be citizens of other countries. While an important part of US history is an openess to accept immigrants in search of a better life for themselves and their children, there have to be limits. IMO, we should give preference first to Mexico, and then to other nearby countries, because doing so helps those countries by taking in their former citizens who then can prosper here and send back money to help their country of birth economically which makes for a more stable region of which the US is a part.

[fflaque]

worst post ever
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IMO, we should give preference first to Mexico, and then to other nearby countries, because doing so helps those countries by taking in their former citizens who then can prosper here and send back money to help their country of birth economically which makes for a more stable region of which the US is a part.

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[BluffTHIS!]

Then say why you belive that instead of just giving an unsupported opinion. I gave my reasons for that position of favoring Mexican immigrants, so now you give yours against.

[vulturesrow]

Jorge,

I think that the way we do it is fine. Now, the issue you raised is a valid one and its a tough situation. Obviously allowing the parents citizenship if they had a child born in the US would be a huge loophole. So that probably isnt viable. However perhaps giving parents of children born in the US some sort of preference in the immigration process might be a workable compromise. In many respects I am sympathetic to basically making the immigration process completely open, at least to citizens of Mexico and perhaps even the rest of Central America. In some respects, though, I dont have much sympathy for those that choose to immigrate illegally under the current system. My stepfather immigrated from South America and he went through the process in the correct fashion.

[Jorge10]

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My stepfather immigrated from South America and he went through the process in the correct fashion.

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My parents went through it the right way as well. It took forever, but they did it. The problem is that of course I have cousins and uncles who arent into the whole waiting and doing it the right way.

Also its a real messy issue, because people are getting really crazy about immigration lately. If you say that maybe we shouldnt have open borders and figure out a good immigration plan you get labeled a racist and are all of a sudden classified as one of those xenophobic guys who are anti immigration. Its kind of silly, I mean immigration is such a difficult issue, but people just assume its open border or huge wall, no middle ground.