Sashakay Fairclough | Potential positives from birthright ban

"Who can afford to run will run, but what about those who can't, they will have to stay" Buju Banton in Untold Stories.

President Donald Trump recently announced that he plans to alter the way that the Fourteenth Amendment is interpreted. This section of the United States Constitution allows birthright citizenship, and the president intends to sign an executive order that will essentially end the granting of citizenship to babies born to non-US citizens on American soil.

He intends to close the 'anchor baby loophole', as it is called. A few cynics have asserted that his plan is unconstitutional, and others have gone further by attesting that the Fourteenth Amendment cannot be altered by an executive order, and that the president is again seeking to divide the nation.

Regardless of the legality, if this is done, it will be devastating news for many in Jamaica's upper crust who take utmost pride in travelling to the States to give birth so that their children can be US citizens. This allows for free movement between the countries, and the children are often whisked off to the States for university, where most choose to settle permanently. An anchor baby is an upper-class mother's dream, and the thought of not being able to gift their children a one-way ticket out of Jamaica from their very birth may be too much for many to bear.

Surprising benefits

Despite their profound sadness at what may very well be inevitable, there may be surprising benefits for Jamaica from America's drastic change in immigration laws. These changes may contribute significantly to the cessation of Jamaica's brain drain, and persons will be forced to try to succeed in Jamaica rather than leaving at the first opportunity.

Many anchor babies do not have to consider nation building, as they are made aware from a very young age that they are Americans and, therefore, will not have to concede to the issues facing this country.

Revoking birthright citizen-ship may also result in more responsible voting. At the moment, less than a majority of the Jamaican population who are legally entitled to vote actually do so. When persons remain in Jamaica, they will attempt to have more of an impact on the political party that leads the country. We will have more educated voters, because even if the elite's children are sent to America to study, the vast majority will have to return home. Finally, they will have a direct impact and will build their own country for future generations.

Full support

I do not often agree with President Trump. However, for the reasons given, I would fully support the move to end birth tourism. The Fourteenth Amendment was created before our 'global' society, where travelling via airplanes did not exist, therefore the United States Founding Fathers could not have anticipated the abuse of it. Additionally, the fully established precedent, which is often used to justify birth tourism, is United States of America v Wong Kim Ark (1898), where the Supreme Court ruled that a child born in America to Chinese parents were automatic US citizens. The rule is applicable to children born to parents from any nation, and its prominence will present a difficulty in changing or challenging the norm.

The only other country in the developed world with unrestricted birthright citizenship is Canada, so wealthy Jamaicans just flock there instead. I am hopeful that they will resist that temptation, and if the change is made in America, it may just be the jolt Jamaicans need to finally turn to their country and contemplate ways to develop it, rather than attempting to find the nearest exit.

- Sashakay Fairclough is a barrister and attorney-at-law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and sfaircloughlaw@gmail.com.