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Invaluable and insignificant: a meditation on US citizenship The price of U.S. citizenship, counted in cold cash, has never been higher. Smugglers charge thousands of dollars to people all over the world desperate for a chance to live and work in America. A lucrative trade in counterfeit documents that allege a right to legal residence in the United States is flourishing. A fake "green card" of good quality or a convincing American birth certificate can wipe out a poor family's lifetime savings. Immigration lawyers with the right connections rake in the money, irrespective of the economy's ups and downs. While the legal right to live and work in
America has become invaluable, the significance of U.S. citizenship has
never been so devalued. Three decades of unprecedented immigration (1)
has left America with a huge and rapidly growing non-citizen population.
Its advocates call for non-citizen voting, the right of non-citizens to
hold any U.S. government job, and for dissociating citizenship from any
requirement to demonstrate a knowledge of basic English and U.S. history.
Objections have been voiced to the mandatory Oath of Allegiance to the
United States that culminates the naturalization process, for it compels
the would-be citizen to renounce all former national loyalties. The push
for the eradication of all differences between citizens and non-citizens
has been ongoing for many years. The United States, a nation of immigrants, has been concerned about the terms of formal entry into American society since its founding. The democratic republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers was to offer immigrants full membership in the polity through an orderly process, one that would not discourage newcomers by imposing burdensome rules yet would assure Americans that their naturalized fellow-citizens were of good character and loyal to their new country. The Requirements for Naturalization Over the centuries since the promulgation
of the first naturalization law in 1790, these laws 1ave undergone periodic
changes. The overarching goal of naturalization, however, has remained
much the same: to allow immigrants relatively easy entry into American
public life, on an equal footing with its native-born citizens, while
screening out those blatantly unsuited for this honor. Current law specifies that applicants
for U.S. citizenship must: Naturalization Laws in their Application On the face of it, the rules governing naturalization today appear to be a reasonable compromise between the twin goals of simple access to citizenship and removal of aspirants likely to be a detrimental addition to American society. In practice, however, the requirements fall short and contribute to the devaluation of American citizenship. Exceptions to the English language test once deemed essential for naturalization
have The press of very large numbers has changed the nature and emotional context of once small and dignified naturalization ceremonies, held in a courthouse setting. Nowadays, they take place in such venues as football stadia and movie houses, with hundreds and even thousands of people taking the Oath of Allegiance together. Increasingly, this solemn ceremony is conducted in Spanish, as the new citizens are unable to follow in English. The relaxation of language requirements has been accompanied by the phenomenon of dual and even multiple citizenships, which raises deep uncertainty about the meaning of acquired American "citizenship." As a nation of immigrants from every land, the United States has always been reluctant to define itself narrowly. It accepted that some Americans passively hold dual citizenship, because their country of birth may still consider them nationals. In the last few years, many sending countries have capitalized on this tacit acceptance, determined to exploit their large diasporas in America as a valuable political asset (2). Mexico, in particular - the country consistently contributing the largest bloc of immigrants to America - has officially reversed its rejection of naturalized Mexican-Americans. Mexico now encourages its emigrants to naturalize, allows them to keep their original citizenship, and aggressively cultivates close ties with this community. Such unilateral decisions by the sending countries have greatly multiplied the number of dual citizens in America and attenuated their need to develop an emotional American identity to match their legal one. Clearly, the Oath of Allegiance to the United States is proving to be meaningless. For many, citizenship in America is perceived as merely a useful and convenient commodity. It protects against deportation, no matter what the offense committed. It assures eligibility for public assistance, at a time when new laws have placed restrictions on welfare programs for aliens. It makes few claims on one's emotions or commitments. It is not a determinant that guides one's actions, nor is it an affective link to America's unique history and destiny. It can be diluted, divided, mixed, or ignored. Citizenship is not an indelible mark of identity; it is a relative attribute, to suit the circumstances of the moment. A Changed Culture These trends reflect America's long retreat from assimilation to any national norm, characterized by such policies as bilingual education and the teaching of revisionist versions of American history in which the United States is eternally guilty of racism, sexism and other crimes. The core values that had united a very diverse people have withered of neglect, while rival cultural modes are celebrated. The net effect of steadily elevating diversity at the expense of national cohesion has been a faltering cultural center and the ascent of an incoherent ethos in which it is ever more difficult to find one's American persona. A generation ago, the five years of residence in America required for U.S. citizenship may have been sufficient to gather a beginning understanding of American society. A much longer stay in America is needed to comprehend the country as it is today, even at an elementary level. The five-year rule still in place is begetting a cadre of culturally disoriented citizens. September 11 and its Aftermath In the wake of the terrorist attacks upon the symbols of America's economic and military power, the American people rediscovered a forgotten emotion: patriotism. They looked at their wounded country with new eyes, and saw that it was full of strangers, some with documents attesting to their American citizenship. They had not paid attention while the multitudes streamed in through unguarded borders, stayed on through permissive immigration law enforcement, and sometimes became citizens through a toothless naturalization process. But now they asked: how did it happen? How could so many who wish America ill have lived undisturbed among them, enrolled as students in sensitive engineering programs and in flight schools? Despite assurances from President Bush and other officials that Americans who share some religious, ethnic and cultural bonds with the terrorists are innocent fellow-citizens, despite media campaigns promoting the theme of "America means diversity", despite school assignments on the spiritual qualities of Islam, the fear of a Fifth Column lingers on. The announcement that 100,000 deportable aliens from the Middle East are at-large somewhere in the U.S. has not been reassuring. The public's sense of danger and suspicion has translated into popular disapproval of American immigration policies. To reduce the distrust and estrangement that has come between members of the American polity, it is also essential to reform the naturalization process. Ending dual citizenship by enforcing the Oath of Allegiance to the United States, restoring English language tests for all, requiring two U.S.- citizen witnesses to vouch for an applicant's character, and lengthening the residency requirement before naturalization are highly symbolic but also practical ways to restore meaning to American citizenship and confidence in one's fellow-citizens. GERDA BIKALES (1) Between 1970 and 2000, the number of immigrants in the U.S. has
tripled from 9.6 million to 28.4 million. |
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