Posted on: Tuesday, September 16, 2003
COMMENTARY
Celebrating Citizenship Day
By John Robert Egan
Tomorrow is Citizenship Day, designated by Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1952 as the day Americans recognize those who have become citizens in the preceding year, and celebrate the Constitution, which grants all Americans the rights and responsibilities which underlie our freedom.
In light of current events it is especially worthwhile that we take the opportunity to observe and remember these important characteristics of our national identity.
First, America is a nation of immigrants, and second, we are free because we have enshrined basic rights into our highest law.
These two facts are deeply intertwined. Citizenship Day is celebrated on Sept. 17 because that is the day in 1787 that our Founding Fathers ratified the final draft of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia, which formally bestowed American citizenship on the immigrants, colonists and settlers who made up our nation's early population.
The resounding promise in that document, along with its Bill of Rights, has drawn immigrants to our shores ever since.The promise still stands, and they keep coming, both enriching and diversifying our culture and our economy in the process.
In fact, the most recent figures from the Census Bureau tell us that the population of Hawai'i is now nearly 18 percent foreign born. When the city of Honolulu is considered, that percentage rises to 25 percent. The Census shows that these numbers have risen over the past decade, proof positive that the promise continues to offer the hope of a better, freer life.
The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, formerly known as the INS, reports that naturalization applications are up sharply in the past two years. The aftermath of Sept. 11, which has brought a new emphasis on security, has sharply defined what rights citizens hold, as opposed to immigrants who have not yet naturalized. This was underlined earlier this year, when the United States Supreme Court, in Demore v. Kim, determined that aliens may be imprisoned without the same due process rights as citizens.
As the balance between preservation of basic rights and the need for security is being debated across our country, for immigrants and other foreign nationals here in the United States, the discussion is not abstract or academic. The message is very clear: in the post-Sept. 11 world, every aspect of their presence in the United States will be judged on a harsher scale than for citizens. The Supreme Court put it this way, "Congress regularly makes rules with respect to aliens that would be unacceptable if applied to citizens."
Civil rights advocates argue that we should recognize all people as equals before the law, regardless of their citizenship status, and perhaps that day may come. Meanwhile, we should all be aware that citizenship and the freedoms we take for granted are not separate or independent ideas. For those of us who are already citizens, this should give us reason to celebrate, but also reason to question why we are unable to grant equal rights to everyone here within our borders. At the very least, we should insist that our lawmakers do the least damage possible to our promise of rights and freedoms as they struggle to find ways to assure our security.
For those among us who are foreign born, there is a second message. Now is a good time to make your decision. Becoming a citizen is the natural conclusion to the immigration process, and the final guarantee of the rights you came here to enjoy. We welcome you into our national family, and every Sept. 17 we celebrate your decision to join us.
John Robert Egan is a Honolulu attorney who concentrates on immigration and nationality law. He is a graduate of the Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai'i.
