Benefits of Naturalization - Essay Example

Introduction

Naturalization has benefits to the host country and to the immigrants that are hosted in a particular country. The process can be hectic and costly to the individuals who seek to become citizens in the host country. The US hosts immigrants from various countries, but the Trump administration is amending the laws that allow immigration in a bid to have America great again. Naturalization requires that one be 18 years and above, must possess an Alien Registration Card and must have lived in the US for more than 30 months (Orgad,2017). These factors do not suffice the full naturalization process. Other considerations like the laws of non-dual citizenship in the country of origin, the level of education and English proficiency, and birthright citizenship count in this process. The host country having these factors considered ensures that it hosts citizens who can cater for themselves and contribute to the economy, the immigrant has the chance to an education and financial benefits according to the level of development of the host country. The US is slowly shifting from the trend of accepting immigrants from all walks of life; naturalization is now limited to the educated, wealthy, and English speaking immigrants; this trend is, however selfish as asylum seekers and those wanting to better their lives are left out.

Main Body

Naturalization in the US means that a foreigner will enjoy all the benefits that a citizen enjoys, which some choose to forgo by not naturalizing owing to the personal and administrative barriers that exist. The majority of immigrants in the US have Mexico as their country of origin, followed by China, the Philippines, Dominican Republic, and Cuba. Currently, the whole naturalization process takes 8-12 months and costs about $725, which includes application processing and biometrics services; this amount is nonrefundable whether or not citizenship is acquired. The Hispanic immigrants have the desire to naturalize. Still, most of them find the cost of the application being too high and the language barrier that prohibits them from becoming citizens. On the contrary, Asian-Americans are the leading group that has naturalized as most of them are degree holders, compared to the 20 percent of Hispanics who hold a bachelor's degree. Eighty-four percent of the Asian-Americans peak English as compared to only 27 percent of Hispanics that are proficient in the language (Bolter, 2020). Many Mexicans migrate to the US as asylum seekers while most Asian Americans are searching for greener pastures; these conflicting reasons play a major role in determining whether or not to naturalize. Legal or Illegal most immigrants from Mexico have the desire to become citizens; however, overcoming the pre-existing barriers is still a challenge.

The country of origin of the immigrants plays a key role in the naturalization process; different countries have different barriers they have to overcome in order to acquire citizenship. As of 2019, 12 million Chinese had acquired citizenship in the US, which is the largest number hosted by the US as compared to other Asian-American groups. The immigrants from China are better educated and have a more likelihood of employment in the US. Mexicans are reluctant to naturalize with those who have naturalized settling in large ethnic groups, posing a risk to the US as the growth of these ethnic groups alters that of the US locally and nationally. Immigrants hold on to the hope that they will return to their motherland, and this prevents most of them from naturalization. In the US, naturalization has become political as most aspirants for the various positions of office advocate for naturalization to increase their political base. China and Mexico both support dual citizenship, and therefore those from these countries have no reason not to naturalize.

Returning to the country of origin after naturalization can be quite a process as some countries do not allow dual citizenship. Upon entry in China, the documents that a dual citizen holds are invalidated due to the fact that China does not support dual citizenship. Those who have acquired citizenship in the US fear to return to China as they may be stripped off their Chinese citizenship, this makes most Chinese in the US reluctant to naturalize in order to maintain their Chinese citizenship (Brooks,2019). Most immigrants from China seek education, career, or freedom, but renouncing their Chinese citizenship is not an option for many as this would deny them the right to buy and sell property, send their children to Chinese public schools, or have access to the health system in China. Violence is rampant in Mexico, and most immigrants are asylum seekers in the US, but the majority that has the legal right of naturalization have not complied. Donald Trump termed Mexican immigrants as rapists, criminals, and drug traffickers. These sentiments have spiked hate towards these immigrants, making them vulnerable to discrimination and hate crimes. Unlike China, Mexico supports dual citizenship allowing those that have naturalized in foreign countries the right to return to home country and retain their citizenship.

The President Trump administration seeks to filter green card immigrants with wealth, education, and English language proficiency, taking precedence as the main factors considered. Trump's administration seeks to have the immigrants who wish to naturalize as responsible and are able to support themselves as Americans, in a bid to realize the American dream (Hauslohner, 2020). Trump seeks to add on to the barriers that immigrants have to face in order to naturalize, physical barriers have been put along the border to Mexico, the number of refugees has been reduced, asylum system access has been restricted, and the government is more eligible to deport immigrants who do not follow the legal procedures. According to Trump, this move will reduce family-based immigration that is common with Mexicans and Africans that generally have lower income as compared to other parts of the world. Immigrants seeking welfare benefits from the US have to reconsider their application as this is not a considered factor anymore. Highly educated and wealthy individuals are more prioritized in naturalization as this reduces the poverty rates and the number of dependent people on the government. Immigrants who live in poverty are thus blocked from naturalization; this move may not be as substantial as estimated since those who had qualified for naturalization will not be affected by this rule despite their status.

A child born in a host country is automatically a citizen by birth, which increases the chances of the mother and the family to naturalize in the host country. The child is also known as the anchor baby and is a qualified citizen according to the jus soli; most immigrants use this to debate for illegal immigration in the US. According to the 14th amendment, a person born or naturalized in the US has the right to become a citizen and is offered similar rights as those of a citizen. However, the most recent reports have shown that Donald Trump wants to abolish birthright citizenship despite the existence of the 14th amendment (Lyons, 2020). Trump argues that the US is the only country that has an individual born in the country to acquire citizenship for 85 years, stating that it is ridiculous and has to be put to an end. Statistics show that over 4 million children living in the US have at least one parent who has no legal documents, these children are however citizens due to the 14th amendment rule.55 percent of these children have both parents with no legal documents while 45 percent have one parent with no legal documents. Trump administration is against this since he says it has created birth tourism, which is encouraged by the maternity hostels that cater to pregnant immigrants. This move has seen a decline in the number of children born to immigrants with no legal documents.

Conclusion

Similar to adopting a child, naturalization gives immigrants from other countries the right to become US citizens. Tones of immigrants from all races and color are granted citizenship annually in the US, a trend that is on the decline owing to the new barriers both from the host country and country of origin. Immigrants educated or uneducated, poor, or wealthy all have various reasons for wanting or not wanting to get citizenship from the host country. On the one hand, the US wants to have citizens who are law-abiding, capable of catering for themselves, and are proficient in the dominant language; this is to make America great again. On the other hand, the immigrants who want to get citizenship may not have the standards required by the US or may fear losing citizenship from their host country that does not allow for dual citizenship. The Trump administration has seen a shift in the naturalization process with barriers to naturalization being increased and some laws being lifted to filter those who become citizens by birth or by naturalization. This move has received both positive and negative responses from different involved individuals.