9.2c Citizenship

Racialization and racism have deeply shaped citizenship, immigration, and belonging in the United States since its founding. The U.S. government first established citizenship rights through the Naturalization Act of 1790. This act gave the right to apply for citizenship to “free whites of good character with two years’ residence in the United States, their children if under age 21, and children born to U.S. citizens abroad (visitthecapitol.gov, 2024).

Extending citizenship rights to anyone born in the United States or outside the United States to parents who are U.S. citizens is called birthright citizenship. In practice, birthright citizenship applied only to White children until this right was protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1868. The U.S. government extended birthright citizenship to Mexicans in 1848, Black people in 1866, Asian Americans in 1898, and Indigenous people in 1924 as citizenship was extended to these groups more generally.

Birthright citizenship is a form of legal citizenship. Legal citizenship, also known as political citizenship, is obtained by establishing lawful permanent residence and meeting specific requirements. Finally, social citizenship or cultural citizenship refers to the sense of belonging that someone feels as a member of a nation.