What makes YOU a US Citizen?
Quite possibly, Wong Kim Ark…
The United States vs. Wong Kim Ark
This Supreme Court case established the precedent that ANY person born in the United States is a citizen by birth (now commonly known as birth-right citizenship).
Wong Kim Ark was born in the United States and traveled regularly to China. On returning from one trip, immigration officers barred his entry as an excludable Chinese person. Wong asserted his right to enter as a U.S. citizen but was challenged by the Immigration Bureau, which assumed that no Chinese person could hold U.S. citizenship.
The Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment granted birthright citizenship to any person born in the United States, regardless of race or the status of their parents.
Many of us owe thanks to Wong Kim Ark for establishing our rights as citizens.
#aapi #AAPIHeritageMonth #uscitizen #wongkimark
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