AILF Releases “Myths & Facts” about Birthright Citizenship

Today, the American Immigration Law Foundation released a report entitled Made in America: Myths & Facts about Birthright Citizenship, in honor of Citizenship Day (Sept 17). Announcing the release of the report on the Immigration Policy Center’s website, the organization writes:

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is enshrined in U.S. history as the cornerstone of American civil rights, ensuring due process and equal protection under the law to all persons. Equally important, however, is the Fourteenth Amendment’s affirmation that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are, in fact, U.S. citizens. Each year, bills are introduced in Congress to deny U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants and, in some cases, the children of immigrants who are in the country on temporary visas. In this series, the Immigration Policy Center explores the issue of birthright citizenship and presents a strong case for maintaining and celebrating our tradition of birthright citizenship—a tradition which is intimately tied to our heritage of civil rights.

CAC Chief Counsel Elizabeth Wydra is one of the authors of this report, contributing a chapter on constitutional text and history surrounding the principle of birthright citizenship.