CITIZENS

CITIZENS

Those who, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of a particular community or of a foreign country, owe allegiance and are entitled
to the enjoyment of all CIVIL RIGHTS that ACCRUE to those who qualify for that status. Neither the United States nor a state is a citizen for purposes of DIVERSITY OF CITIZENSHIP, a phrase that is used in regard to the jurisdiction of the federal courts, which – under Article III, Section 2, of the Constitution - empowers those courts to hear and decide cases between citizens of different states. Municipalities and other local governments, however, are
deemed to be citizens.

The term citizen in Article III of the Consti-
tution, which established the federal judiciary,
includes corporations; therefore, suits concern-
ing corporations involve citizens for federal
jurisdictional purposes. The term citizen, how-
ever, as defined by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Amendments, does not encompass either corpo-
rations or ALIENS. Neither corporations nor
aliens receive the protection of the PRIVILEGES
AND IMMUNITIES Clauses of the FOURTEENTH
AMENDMENT and Article IV, as those clauses
protect only citizens.

Aliens, however, are considered to be “persons” for the purposes of the DUE PROCESS
Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amend-
ments and the EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE of
the Fourteenth Amendment. In the 1982 case of
Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202, 102 S. Ct. 2382, 72 L.
Ed. 2d 786, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized
that even illegal aliens are “persons” within the
Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment for purposes of public education.A
corporation is also deemed to be a citizen for
certain purposes. It is a citizen of the United
States and of the state under whose laws it was
organized. A particular state, commonly Delaware, is selected for incorporation because that state charges lower taxes and its laws favor
businesses. Once the company incorporates in
the designated state, it is a citizen of that state,
but it can apply in any other state for authority
to do business there.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution
provides: “All persons born or naturalized
in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and
of the State wherein they reside. . . .” The important
right of citizenship, whether for nativeborn
or naturalized citizens, cannot be divested,
whether as punishment for a crime or for any
other reason, by the states or the federal government,
including their agencies and officials (see
also Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253, 87 S. Ct. 1660,
18 L. Ed. 2d 757 [1967]). American citizenship
can be relinquished, but it cannot be taken away
unless it was procured through FRAUD or any
other unlawful action.
The Fourteenth Amendment, through the
inclusion of the phrase “all persons,” was specifically
enacted in 1868 specifically to grant citizenship
to former slaves. Since 1924, it has been
judicially interpreted to include American Indians.
U.S. citizenship does not divest an Indian of
tribal citizenship but, rather, coexists with it.
The Fourteenth Amendment does not, however,
make children who are born within the
territory of the United States of foreign ambassadors,
consuls, and military officers American
citizens. Such children derive their citizenship
from their parents.
Ordinarily, a person who is in a country
other than the one of which he or she is a citizen
owes to that country a type of “temporary allegiance,”
which essentially is a respect for the laws
of the host country, although it is not as substantial
as the loyalty demanded of citizens. It
requires that an alien observe the laws of the
country and, in some countries, even serve in
the military; it ensures the protection of the
alien by the laws of the country.
Ambassadors, consuls, and military officers,
however, owe no allegiance to the foreign country
where they are assigned, and their children
are not “born within the allegiance” of a foreign
country in which they serve.
Citizen of a State
The Fourteenth Amendment provides that
American citizens are also citizens “of the state
wherein they reside,” but U.S. citizenship does
not necessitate residence in a particular state.
Persons living abroad, for example, are citizens
of the United States but not of any state.
One significant legal disadvantage exists for
a person who is not a citizen of a state. The
Constitution provides that federal courts can
hear “Controversies . . . between Citizens of different
States.” The phrase “Citizens of different
States” includes citizens of Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands of the United States, and Guam.
Puerto Rico is in the First Circuit, the Virgin
Islands are in the Third Circuit, and Guam,
Alaska, and Hawaii are in the Ninth Circuit. A
person who is not a resident of a state or designated
area, even if he or she is a U.S. citizen,
cannot satisfy the diversity of citizenship
requirement and therefore cannot bring an
action under the Diversity Clause in a federal
court.
American Citizenship
U.S. citizenship is attained either by birth or
by naturalization, the legal procedure that a
qualified person must satisfy in order to be
accepted as a citizen.
Federal law provides that those who are born
in any of the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the former
Panama Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands of the
United States, and Guam are all native-born citizens,
including the children of an American
Indian, Eskimo, Aleutian, or any other tribal
member.
Persons born in outlying possessions of the
United States, such as Wake Island or Midway
Island, and their children are called nationals.
They owe allegiance to the United States and
enjoy some rights. The term national denotes
everyone who owes allegiance to the country,
including citizens, but not every national possesses
all of the rights of a citizen.
A person born beyond the geographical
boundaries of the United States and its outlying
possessions, of parents who are both U.S. citizens,
is a national and a citizen of the United
States at birth if one parent had a residence in
the United States or one of its outlying possessions
prior to the birth of such person. If only
one parent is a citizen and the other is a
national—but not a citizen—the parent who is a
citizen must have been physically present in the
United States or one of its outlying possessions
for a continuous period of one year prior to the
birth of the child in order for the child to be a
national and a citizen of the United States at
birth.
A person born out of wedlock in a foreign
country acquires at birth American citizenship if
the mother was a citizen at the time of such person’s
birth and had formerly been physically
present in the United States or one of its outlying
possessions for a continuous period of one
year preceding the birth.
Derivative Citizenship
A child born in a foreign country can
become a U.S. citizen if his or her parents
become naturalized U.S. citizens. If the child is
brought to the United States before becoming an
adult, and the child’s parents become citizens,
then the child is entitled to claim U.S. citizenship
when he or she becomes an adult. Although
his or her birth certificate will still reflect a foreign-
born status, a person in this situation can
obtain a certificate of nationality by filing an
application with the SECRETARY OF STATE.
Rights of U.S. Citizens
Everyone within the jurisdiction of the
United States is protected by most of the guarantees
and safeguards of the Constitution. A
U.S. citizen traveling abroad retains the protection
of the United States. If property of an individual
is stolen while he or she is in a foreign
country, the United States consul can lend him
or her money to return to the United States. U.S.
citizens, of course, must observe and obey the
laws of other countries while they are visiting,
but if a U.S. citizen is arrested, a representative
from the U.S. ambassador’s office can visit him
or her and inform the foreign government that
the treatment of the U.S. citizen will be scrutinized.
Unlike citizens of other countries, U.S. citizens
are entitled to enter into, and to depart
from, the United States, and to obtain a passport
from the government. The passport certifies to
foreign nations that its holder is entitled to all of
the protection afforded by the U.S. government.
The right to enter and leave the United States is
so fundamental, however, that a citizen cannot
be prevented from coming into the United States
merely because he or she has no passport. Even
if someone departs from the country without
obtaining a passport, knowing that he or she
should have done so, he or she must be permitted
to enter upon returning if a birth certificate
or expired passport is presented, or if the person
takes an oath as to his or her citizenship.
However, the U.S. government can prohibit
its citizens from traveling in designated countries
that are hostile to the U.S. and perilous to
U.S. citizens. The passport of a person who
ignores these restrictions can be revoked, and
such a traveler can be denied protection by the
government.
A naturalized citizen has all of the rights of a
native-born U.S. citizen but one: He or she can
never be president of the United States.Article II
of the Constitution provides: “No person except
a natural-born Citizen, or a Citizen of the
United States, at the time of Adoption of this
Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of
President.”
Obligations of Citizenship
The most fundamental duty of a citizen is to
be loyal to the United States. Allegiance is not an
unquestioning acceptance, but a general faith in
the U.S. system. In times of national emergency,
citizens can be required to defend the country,
through military service or alternative service
such as employment in a hospital.
Issues surrounding the duties of citizens
often arise in the same context as the freedoms
enjoyed by citizens of the United States. In one
of his more famous speeches, The Duties of
American Citizenship, President THEODORE
ROOSEVELT said, “It ought to be axiomatic in
this country that every man must devote a reasonable
share of his time to doing his duty in the
Political life of the community. No man has the
right to shirk his political duties under whatever
plea of pleasure or business. . . .”
In the wake of the SEPTEMBER 11TH ATTACKS
in 2001, the case against one American citizen,
John Philip Walker Lindh, demonstrated the attitude that the U.S. government takes against
nationals who breach their duty of citizenship.
Lindh, also known by the Islamic names Suleyman
al-Faris and Abdul Hamid, as well as the
nickname “the American Taliban,” converted to
Islam in 1997. After visiting such countries as
Yemen and Pakistan to study Islam at various
times from 1997 to 2000, Lindh began training
with the terrorist organization al-Qaeda in 2001.
Both before and after the terrorist attacks in
September 2001, Lindh served the Taliban
regime of Afghanistan in an ongoing conflict
with the Northern Alliance in northeastern
Afghanistan. Lindh was captured by Northern
Alliance groups in November 2001. He was
eventually turned over to the U.S. military, who
returned him to the United States on January 23,
2002.
In the case of United States v. Lindh, 198 F.
Supp. 2d 739 (E.D.Va. 2002), Lindh was indicted
on ten criminal charges, including conspiracy to
murder U.S. nationals, contributing to and conspiring
to contribute to al-Qaeda, and using and
carrying firearms and other destructive devices
during crimes of violence. Lindh pled guilty in
July 2002 to a count of supplying services to the
Taliban government and received a 20-year sentence.
Surrender of Citizenship
Unlike some nations, the United States permits
expatriation, the voluntary relinquishment
of one’s citizenship. A U.S. citizen can lose his or
her citizenship by declaring that he or she no
longer wishes to be a citizen or to owe allegiance
to the United States, or by performing a VOLUNTARY
ACT that constitutes the surrender of citizenship,
as prescribed by law.
The test of whether an ABANDONMENT of
citizenship is voluntary depends on whether the
person’s acts were of his or her own choice and
pertained to allegiance to the United States. If
they were, federal law provides that one has
intentionally and voluntarily surrendered his or
her right to American citizenship.
A loss of citizenship can occur by serving in
the military of another nation; serving as a public
official in a foreign country that requires an
oath of allegiance to that country; and attempting
to overthrow the U.S. government, which is
established by a conviction for the crime.
Conduct that might be construed as a
renunciation of citizenship sometimes is insufficient
to prove voluntary expatriation. If a person
merely enjoys the benefits that are available in
another country, the surrender of his or her U.S.
citizenship is not necessarily established.
The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the
power of Congress to specify conduct that constitutes
expatriation, but the right to citizenship
is so substantial that such actions must be
closely related to a conspicuous movement of
allegiance away from the United States.
Although some courts have ruled that Congress
never is empowered to deprive the native born of
citizenship, this view is not in accordance with
current law.
Conviction of a crime can result in a partial
deprivation of rights of citizenship. Prior to the
twentieth century under English and American
COMMON LAW, convicts actually lost their citizenship,
which was known in some jurisdictions
as civil death. Today, however, only some rights
are divested, even if the applicable law is called
“loss of citizenship.”
A state is empowered to deny someone the
right to vote after his or her conviction of a
felony or an “infamous crime,” such as BRIBERY
or perjury. This denial of a right of citizenship
can remain in effect until the completion of the
sentence, including periods of PAROLE, or it
might be permanent. A pardon from the president
or a governor can restore such rights, however.
Some statutes even authorize the courts to
restore rights of citizenship upon proof of the
rehabilitation of the former prisoner.
International Law
Questions concerning whether someone is a
citizen of one country or another are generally
resolved by treaty, a compact formed between
two or more nations with respect to matters pertaining
to the public welfare pursuant to principles
of INTERNATIONAL LAW. One person might
qualify for dual nationality, that is, citizenship in
more than one nation, if he or she can satisfy the
citizenship requirements of different countries.
International law also recognizes a rule
labeled the “law of the flag,” which determines
the citizenship of persons born on ships. The
rule is responsive to the citizenship laws of different
nations and to treaties that are rewritten
to fulfill new political conditions.
A child born of U.S. parents on a vessel anywhere
in the world is a U.S. citizen. A child born
in U.S. waters on a foreign ship is a citizen of
that foreign nation when his or her parents are
citizens of that country. If his or her parents are from a different country, provisions of
treaty or international law apply. A child born
on the high seas on a foreign vessel of parents
from that same country assumes that country’s
citizenship and not the citizenship of his or her
destination.
FURTHER READINGS
Aleinikoff, T. Alexander, and Douglas Klusmeyer, eds. 2001.
Citizenship Today: Global Perspectives and Practices.
Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace.
Doak, Robin. 2002. Citizenship. New York: Raintree Steck-
Vaughn Publishers.
Lister, Ruth. 2003. Citizenship: Feminist Perspective. New
York: New York Univ. Press.
Noorani, A.G. 2002. Citizens’ Rights, Judges and State
Accountability. New York: Oxford Univ. Press.