Tribal Sovereignty and Citizenship: From Independent Nations to U.S. Citizens

Since the 1980s, when President Ronald Regan began to address illegal immigration, citizenship has taken to the forefront during the presidential election cycles. During the 2016 and 2024 election cycle, Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump made campaign promises to stop illegal border crossings by building a wall. Additionally, during the recent campaign, now President-elect Trump stated that he would remove birthright citizenship from children of parents who are here illegally and not United States citizens, also known as anchor babies. Citizenship has played a significant role in the last 248 years of the United States, from the Founding Fathers' discussions during constitutional debates to the early 21st century. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people residing within the United States. However, the amendment did not address the First Nations of this continent, which would have to wait to be addressed in the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. This paper addresses the foundational concern of Indigenous citizenship and its impacts upon the current United States citizenship system thought process. Understanding the dynamics of citizenship and the current structure of Federal citizenship policy will allow for the interwoven weave of citizenship understanding to be brought to light amongst current societal issues stemming from birthright citizenship. The paper's main points seek to analyze the root causes and understanding of United States citizenship laws, the foundational interaction of citizenship laws and Indigenous nations, and the modern interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in light of historical precedence.