Subject: Re: US-Mexico and citizenship - walls & borders
Date: Jun 13, 2001 @ 18:53
Author: Peter Smaardijk ("Peter Smaardijk" <smaardijk@...>)
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--- In BoundaryPoint@y..., Dallen Timothy <dtimothy@a...> wrote:
> These pictures remind me of a recent discussion I had with a US
Immigration
> supervisor about citizenship. In theory, given the fact that the
fence is
> three feet inside the United States at most places (and about five
or six
> feet in some places) and US citizenship is automatically granted to
anyone
> born on US soil, a pregnant Mexican woman could have her baby lying
down
> between the actual border and the fence and the baby would be a US
citizen!
> This was the question/situation I posed to the immigration boss.
His
> response was as follows: Yes, in theory this might be so; however,
a few
> things would have to be established in order for this to be the
case.
> First, there would have to be physical proof, and basically the
only proof
> they would accept would be video footage together with eyewitnesses.
> Second, the law actually has two parts. If a person is born on US
soil AND
> within the jurisdiction of the United States he/she can have US
citizenship.
> According to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, the
jurisdiction
> of US control ends at the fence, not at the actual borderline. I
argued
> that this may be so for everyday functions, but US sovereign control
> technically goes up to the actual border. He agreed, but said that
this
> would be a case not to be determined by an immigration officer, but
rather
> in a federal court.
>
> So, I left his office with the understanding that a Mexican woman
who gives
> birth to a baby within the narrow strip of US land north of the
borderline
> would have a pretty good court case for claiming that her baby is a
US
> citizen. I don't believe it would take much to argue that, while
the fence
> is an administrative barrier, sovereign JURISDICTION still extends
to the
> borderline. The immigration officer asked me not to spread this
word
> extensively in Mexico!
>
> Can any of you US immigration law experts add any clarification to
this
> situation?
>
> Cheers,
> Dallen
>
> Dr. Dallen J. Timothy
> PO Box 874905
> Arizona State University
> Tempe, AZ 85287-4905
> USA
>
> Tel: (480) 965-7291
> Fax: (480) 965-5664
> Email: dtimothy@a...
> Web: http://www.asu.edu/copp/recreation