There's a lot that this administration has done that's gobsmackingly heinous, but this is extreme. A new memo posted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Wednesday declares that children born overseas to U.S. military members and government employees won't be automatically considered citizens.
Yes, people serving their country overseas, including in the military and in the diplomatic corps and every other foreign posting, will have to apply for citizenship for any of their children born outside of the U.S., starting Oct. 29. The memo says the USCIS is changing the definition of "residing in the United States" to mean being born in the U.S., disqualifying children born to U.S. citizens at overseas military bases or diplomatic facilities. Parents are going to have to prove their citizenship and residency in order to pass it on to their children.
Way to support the troops, Trump.
"It's a big deal because it is an attempt to limit the number of U.S. citizens who can transmit U.S. citizenship to their children because they have made the choice to patriotically serve their country in the military or other government service," Ur Jaddou of America's Voice told Axios. It's also a big deal because it's a fucking big, unpatriotic, terrifying step, courtesy of racist Trump adviser Stephen Miller, no doubt.
This is the tip of the spear, opening the door to what are sure to be further restrictions as Miller goes through the U.S. code trying to find ways to limit citizenship. Shooting themselves in the foot with ALL military families, active duty and retired, is a stupid way to do so politically. But it is all about clamping down on citizenship, not to mention terrorizing the non-citizens who are nonetheless serving in the U.S. military.
Wednesday, Aug 28, 2019 · 9:43:01 PM +00:00 · Joan McCarter
The USCIS has issued a clarification which makes it slightly less egregious but still not good. This is essentially targeting kids born to non-U.S. citizen parents, making the process of getting citizenship for them harder. Many, maybe most military kids would not be born non-citizens because they qualify otherwise (both parents are citizens).