American Citizenship

Are you an American citizen? A citizen is one who owes loyalty to the United States and, in return, receives its protection. More than 90 percent of all the people who live here are citizens.

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution talks about U.S. citizenship. Most Americans are citizens because they were born in the United States. This is called jus soli. That means "the law of the soil." Others are citizens because they were born to at least on American citizen parent, no matter where in the world they were born. This is called jus sanguinis. That means 'the law of the blood.'

The 14th Amendment also says that people can become U.S. citizens through naturalization. This is the legal process a noncitizen must follow.

Only Congress can make a person a naturalized citizen. Every now and then, Congress makes a qhole group of people citizens all at once. This usually happens when the United States gets a new territory.

Some U.S. citizens no longer want to be loyal to this country. They can give up their citizenship through a legal process called expatriation. But the Federal Government cannot take away a person's citizenship because of disloyal actions, such as serving in another country's army.

Immigration Policy

We are a nation of immigrants. Americans either came here from another country or are the descendants of immigrants who did.

When we became a nation in 1776, we had only 2.5 million people living here. Today, we have more than 250 million people. Many are native-born, or those people who were born here. But many others are immigrants. In fact, since 1820, over 55 million immigrants have come to the Untied States.

Today, Congress has the power to decide who can come to stay in this country. For the first hundred years of the country, almost anyone could come. Starting in 1882, Congress placed- and removed- many limits on immigration Today, the Immigration Act of 1990 is in effect. It allows 675,000 legal immigrants to come each year.

Illegal Aliens

The government guesses that every year about one-half million people come into the United States without proper papers. These people are called illegal aliens. They put a strain on schools and welfare services in several States. In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. It forgave many illegal aliens who already lived here and said they could stay. It also made it a crime to hire illegal aliens.