The United States is one of only about 30 countries worldwide that grant citizenship to anyone born on their soil β and almost all of those are in the Americas. That makes America a stark outlier among developed nations, according to a piece by James Price, a former chief of staff to the U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer and a senior fellow at the Adam Smith Institute, published by The Daily Wire.
Price argues that the concept of birthright citizenship β now at the center of the Supreme Court case Trump v. Barbara β is far from a universal norm, and that dismantling it would not be a radical far-right move but would instead align the U.S. with most of Europe and the developed world.
The Strange Case of the Belfast Anchor Baby
Price illustrates the point with the story of Mrs. Man Lavette Chen, a Chinese businesswoman who, in 2000, traveled to Belfast while six months pregnant. Facing China’s one-child policy, she gave birth in Northern Ireland to secure her daughter European citizenship through a loophole in the Good Friday Agreement, which granted Irish citizenship to anyone born on the island of Ireland β even if the parents were not Irish. Britain had scrapped birthright citizenship in 1983, but the peace deal created a backdoor.
The European Court of Justice ultimately ruled in Chen’s favor, allowing the family to settle in Wales. But the backlash was swift: Irish voters approved a referendum by 79% to 21% to remove birthright citizenship from their constitution, after Dublin maternity hospitals complained about foreign women flying in to give birth. That, Price notes, is how the last birthright in the European Union died.
Britain Led the Way
Price points out that Britain settled the issue nearly 50 years ago. The British Nationality Act of 1981, passed under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, established that a baby born in the U.K. is British only if a parent is British or ‘settled’ in the country. Otherwise, the child must earn citizenship by living in the U.K. for 10 years.
Price also notes that while contemporary leftist history often frames postwar Britain as welcoming sons of the Empire, it was in fact left-wing governments of the mid-20th century that tried to prevent waves of immigration from the Caribbean, India, and Pakistan.
Europe’s Shifting Rules
Other European countries have also tightened citizenship rules. France, which passed a nationality law in 1889, now grants citizenship to a child born on French soil to foreign parents at 18 β but only if they have lived in France for five years since age 11. France also restricted birthright citizenship on the island of Mayotte in 2018, and tightened it again last year, requiring both parents to have a year’s legal residence. Price emphasizes that the ‘far Right did none of this.’
Germany only introduced any birthright citizenship for non-German parents in 2000, and even then with limits. Scandinavian countries, often praised by American leftists as socialist paradises, are actively revoking passports from dual nationals who commit crimes, even if born there β with Sweden currently considering such a law and Denmark having it for years.
Even Australia and New Zealand Abolished It
Australia and New Zealand both eliminated birthright citizenship to prevent abuse by overstayers and illegal immigrants β and in both cases, Price notes, left-wing governments instituted the changes. This is not a policy driven by the far right, he argues.
The Scale in America
In the U.S., Price highlights that in 2023, 320,000 babies were born to mothers who were in the country illegally or on temporary visas β 9% of all births, equivalent to adding the population of Pittsburgh every year. He also cites federal charges in 2019 against 19 people over ‘maternity hotels’ around Los Angeles that sold Chinese clients delivery packages for $40,000 to $80,000, promising ‘the most attractive nationality.’
Price concludes that the U.S. and Canada are outliers in the developed world, and suggests that if Americans choose to change the rules, they should not let critics label it an ‘unspeakable, far-Right evil policy.’ He argues it would merely bring the U.S. in line with most of Europe and much of the developed world.
As the Supreme Court considers Trump v. Barbara, the debate over birthright citizenship is far from settled β but Price’s analysis aims to reshape the terms of that debate, arguing that the U.S.’s current policy is the exception, not the rule, among advanced democracies.
Source: www.dailywire.com β https://www.dailywire.com/news/dismantling-the-myth-of-the-far-right-immigration-policy