To the Editor:
While readers are now processing the practical impacts of the Supreme Court’s major ruling on birthright citizenship, this commentary is being penned days before the justices take the bench. My prediction has long been clear: a 7-2 decision in favor of upholding the traditional interpretation of automatic birthright citizenship. However, predicting a legal outcome based on current constitutional precedent is entirely different from agreeing with it. The reality is that our current immigration landscape has evolved into something completely unrecognizable—and unintended—by the framers of our laws.
From the founding of our country until roughly the 1940s, immigration required an immense, often life-threatening commitment. To reach the New World, individuals had to board wooden ships, risk disease, and put their families through extreme peril just for a chance at a new life. Because of that high barrier, and because a growing nation desperately needed to build a massive standing army to defend its borders and settle a vast continent, the government welcomed nearly everyone who survived the journey.
That all changed in the post-WWII era. Once transatlantic aviation replaced the perilous ocean voyage, immigration transformed from a high-risk pilgrimage into a logistical calculation.
Today, wealthy elites from all over the globe—particularly from nations like China—exploit this modern ease of travel. Expectant mothers can simply board a commercial airliner, land in the United States, and automatically secure full citizenship for their newborn children. This “birth tourism” guarantees their offspring permanent access to the finest healthcare and best higher education systems in the world, with zero foundational ties or generational investment in our communities.
This brings us to the two modern forces keeping this broken incentive structure alive:
Corporate Demand for Cheap Labor: Since 1950, the corporate elite and the wealthy have tolerated, if not welcomed, illegal immigration because it provides a continuous supply of low-cost labor, driving down operational expenses and reducing the obligation to provide meaningful benefits.
Political Dependency: On the other side of the aisle, the political establishment—specifically the Democratic Party—seeks to expand public assistance programs (keeping people “on the dole”) to foster a permanent reliance on the state, securing a reliable voting bloc rather than encouraging a return to the dignity of work and self-sufficiency.
The framers of our Constitution could never have imagined a world of commercial flight where citizenship could be acquired through a brief travel itinerary. It is time to acknowledge that the rules of the 19th century do not fit the exploitation of the 21st. We must change the Constitution: automatic citizenship should be reserved for those whose parents have already done the work, respected our laws, and committed to becoming citizens themselves.
George Ferdinand
Tewksbury
Like Wilmington Apple on Facebook. Follow Wilmington Apple on Twitter. Follow Wilmington Apple on Instagram. Subscribe to Wilmington Apple’s daily email newsletter HERE. Got a comment, question, photo, press release, or news tip? Email wilmingtonapple@gmail.com.
Wilmington Apple 