Undocumented immigrants are individuals that cross the border into the USA without entry visas, especially individuals that avoid inspection or overstay their time allowed as visitors, tourists, or businesspersons. These illegal immigrants make up about 4% of the American population and account for approximately 8% of the children born.
In the first class post, the author collaborates my view that undocumented immigrants’ children should be allowed American citizenship because the children have no control over where they should or shouldn’t be born. I agree with the author that the USA is a land of equality and opportunities that should be accessible to all people across all nations, and these people should be granted equal protection under the law. If a child is born in the USA, they should own the fundamental rights guaranteed under the federal constitution. The Declaration of Independence explicitly states that ‘All men are created equal.’ This implies that each and every person has equal rights under the new sovereign body of the USA and therefore should be granted equal access to opportunity in the country. Based on this declaration, we cannot base citizenship on the place of origin in modern society because that would imply regression into the dark days of slavery
In the second post, the author says that the diversity and culture of the USA is what makes the country unique to accommodate children born to undocumented immigrants. These children should be granted rights and freedoms available to all citizens including education and equal protection under the law as stipulated in the Fourteenth Amendment. According to Linda Chavez, the Fourteenth Amendment shouldn’t be reformed or repealed to accommodate other opinions. The USA founding fathers didn’t take illegal immigrants into account during the signing of the Fourteenth Amendment because there never existed a category for illegal or undocumented aliens since immigration was unrestricted and unregulated (Chavez). The constitution fathers intended to make citizenship an unalienable right and everyone should be granted this opportunity to belong, work, and live in America.
Work Cited
Chavez, Linda. "The Case For Birthright Citizenship". WSJ. N.p., 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
