Immigration Article of the Day: Race and Citizenship in U.S. Law by Gabriel “Jack” Chin 

Race and Citizenship in U.S. Law by Gabriel “Jack” Chin 

Abstract

This chapter for the book Race, Racism, and the Law Handbook (Aziza Ahmed & Guy Charles eds.) surveys the ways in which U.S. citizenship law historically granted or denied the benefits of citizenship based on race. U.S. law granted citizenship by birth in U.S. territory, birth outside the limits and jurisdiction of the United States to U.S. citizen parents, individual naturalization of immigrants to the U.S., or group naturalization of citizens of territories acquired by the U.S. such as the Republic of Texas. Each of those methods discriminated against non-white people in one way or another.

KJ