There are a few ways to legally become a US citizen, but the absolute easiest way is to
be born here.
That’s literally all you need.
You’re parents don’t have to be American, you don’t have to be raised in America,
you don’t even have to stay in the country.
You just have to be born on US soil.
And as a result of this, the current ease of global travel, and the rise of new economies
in places like South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan and China to name a few...
A booming Birth Tourism industry exists.
And pregnant women are coming to the US for the exclusive purpose of giving birth and
obtaining US citizenship for their child.
And as I said, this is totally legal.
So, how did we get here?
Well, the question of who can, and can not, become a US citizen has always been a hotly
debated topic.
We’re going to try to stay out of that argument, while still giving you some history on the
issue.
The US started with a very strict citizenship policy that only enabled land-owning, white
men to become citizens.
This policy has since changed drastically, with restrictions on Citizenship widening
and tightening based on the cultural climate at that the time.
For example, in 1790 they widened the citizenship base by dropping the land-owning requirement
and allowing white males to become citizens after living in the US for only two years.
This was in response to a large increase in non-land-owning white males.
Then through legislation in 1795 and 1798 they tightened citizenship laws by requiring
that people live in the US for at least 14 years in order to gain citizenship.
This was in response to a sudden influx of European Immigrants, from Germany, Ireland
and Scotland.
The law allowing citizenship by birth didn’t exist prior to the passing of the 14th Amendment
in 1868.
It was passed as a way to guarantee citizenship to African-Americans and their children.
This was done in the wake of the civil war and the abolition of slavery.
That’s how citizenship by birth started.
As a simple, legal way to enfranchise an enormous population that had previously been restricted
from Citizenship exclusively because of their skin color.
A problem the United States does not have today.
So, why are we not tightening our citizenship laws again?
Because the United States has an enormous and permanent illegal immigrant population
and addressing the problem of birth tourism also means addressing immigration reform.
And that is not something many lawmakers feel like taking on.
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