Jus soli is Latin and is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a rule that the citizenship of a child is determined by the place of its birth.” The 14th Amendment to our Constitution states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States…” This thus signifies that the United States bases its citizenship of its people, upon whether or not they have been born within the United States. Additionally, America also provides a pathway for those that have been born elsewhere to become a naturalized citizen; and finally, for those born abroad of which, at least one of their parents is a United States citizen, those children are more than likely, United States citizens, depending upon their familial circumstances and applicable legal rulings, thereof.
The fact that being born in America, creates citizenship, is truly profound, for this is proof positive, that in America, each of its citizens, are indeed equal in class, one to another; and all therefore are entitled to the same equal rights as any other citizen of this country. This signifies that in America, there are no Kings or Queens, no nobility, and no such special sanctioned class, ranking above all others. Further, at its core, America is a country in which each person is entitled to exactly one individual vote, and therefore, because so many of its governmental officials, be it local, regional, State, or Federal, are voted into office, this signifies that it is the citizens, in whole, of this great nation, that select those who would be their legislative representatives for its governance.
The fact that all that are born within the United States, are citizens, and further that each has been accorded the same Constitutional rights, is indicative that America believes in the merit of an egalitarian society. This thus signifies that the very principle, thereof, of this country, is to see that those principles so written and espoused by the highest law of this land, are lived in the everyday lives of the citizens of this country, of which this does indeed make a material difference in the quality of life, so lived. Further to the point, because of the fact that each of us born here is a citizen, and that therefore each of us has been franchised to vote, presupposes that the people of this land are the collective captains of their own ship.
To be an equal citizen, one with another, is the grand mark of a progressive country that clearly values its people, and of which its governance therefore is held in the hands of the representatives of that nation, as a fair reflection of the people. This is the way that good governance should be, for those that have been equally created by the very hand of God, are implicitly valued equally by that same God. We are indeed, our citizen’s keeper, for we are all in this together, and therefore it is to our collective benefit to see and to assure that each one of us is fairly entitled to the opportunities so presented by that governance of, for, and by the people.
To be a citizen by birth, is the conscious recognition by that government, that we are all equally entitled to the fair opportunity to become all that we can be. So then, the objective thereof, of that governance is to do its good part of behalf of the people, to ensure justice, tranquility, good welfare, and liberty for all of its citizens.