by Karl Rodney
Congressmember Yvette Clarke of New York and Congressmember Alma Adams of North Carolina have taken up a fight in Congress to bring about a more humanitarian immigration law and a law that would introduce equal citizen protection for parents and children.
They are proposing an amendment to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 an act that had bipartisan support. The Child Citizen Act went into effect in February of 2001 and has significantly changed the way children of naturalized citizens are treated, in fact, it immediately
made some 75,000 children eligible for citizenship when the law was first implemented. It was hailed as a good signal to bring about family unity and some equity in the immigration law. And by all counts, it was a good bipartisan attempt in Congress. The law itself is still of tremendous value in the immigration area and has served well to provide a pathway to citizenship for children of naturalized citizens and has been key in the family reunification process. However, there was immediately recognized a floor in the law that did not provide the protection for certain children of. U.S. citizens, many of whom resided in the U.S. since childhood and should have been citizen under the law.
But because of that oversight, they are presumed deportable for certain crimes that would not ordinarily be the case if the Child Citizenship law was applied to them from the beginning. To cure this situation, Congresswomen Yvette Clarke and Alma Adams have now introduced into Congress the Equal Citizenship for Children Act to amend the Child Citizenship Act and to provide U.S. citizenship for eligible individuals previously excluded by the act.
We commend the two members of Congress who have taken this situation on one that is very vexing in the community, and one that we have seen in so many ways, individuals being deported to countries that they have left when they were infants, have no ties and are sent back just to create more chaos and more problems and not solving any situation. Leading a more aggrieved family situation and inhuman conditions.
“Comprehensive, common-sense immigration reform is a priority for House Democrats. The Equal Citizenship for Children Act amends the Child Citizenship Act (CCA) to keep families together and automatically provide citizenship to eligible individuals previously excluded by the CCA,” said Representative Adams. “I’m proud to join Congresswoman Clarke in introducing this bill and taking us one step closer to immigration reform that makes sense for everyone who lives in our country.”
Congressmember Yvette Clarke made this point, “Our vital fight for substantial immigration reform necessitates that we look towards all forms of meaningful progress whenever possible. For far too long, many individuals, who have resided in this country since childhood and who should be citizens under today’s law have been living under the fear of deportation. I’m proud to join Congresswoman Adams to introduce common sense solutions, such as the Equal Citizenship for Children Act, that will not only provide lifelong Americans with the citizenship they deserve, but reaffirm our commitment towards a fair and equitable immigration system”.
The fear Representative Clarke speaks of is a fear that is strong within the immigrant community and fear that is understood by so many because it has impacted so many lives.
Congress has tried to fix this law by introducing the Adoptee Citizenship Act in 2015 and the Adoptee Citizenship Act of 2021, both Congres members Clarke and Adams have indicated their determination for a successful push for their new bill to amend the Child Citizenship Act. They must be commended for this bold and strong undertaking and must be supported in this mission and so it is or right duty to help this effort by lobbying, writing all members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to appeal to their sense of humanity. Family reunification, a bedrock of the United States immigration policy that should be implemented in this new bill.
Let us provide the support that these Congressmembers need and do the best we can to push for this is remedy of a very sad situation.
