More than Just a Navy Passport: Understanding U.S. Citizenship through a Paradigm of Law, Internet, and the Constitution

-- By SamuelPittman - 09 May 2025 [Second Revision]

Is a Different Future Possible?

Immigration law could be amended to provide pathways to U.S. citizenship. Today, immigration law operates to exclude people, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Under the Child Citizenship Act, a foreign-born infant adopted by U.S. citizens can automatically become a United States citizen.

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) is a federal law that amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. The CCA provides adopted children of U.S. citizens an automatic pathway to acquire U.S. citizenship after entering the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident before the age of eighteen. The statute essentially grants automatic citizenship to adopted children of U.S. citizens.

U.S. citizenship offers layers of legal protection that are increasingly coming under attack.

As a naturalized U.S. citizen and beneficiary of the CCA, I’ve felt frightened, not necessarily for myself, but for those in my community. On Monday, 19-year-old Ximena Arias-Cristobal was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for disregarding a “no turn on red” sign. Ms. Arias-Cristobal is a Dalton State College student and has lived in Whitfield County, Georgia, since she was four years old. Ms. Cristobal was brought to the U.S. illegally, as a child, by no doing of her own. Ms. Arias-Cristobal is now facing deportation to Mexico.

Every 1L at Columbia Law must take Criminal Law. While the MPC is distinct from governing immigration law, and immigration law is “legally” distinct from criminal law, both areas operate under the supervision of the U.S. Constitution. Yet, enforcement of criminal law and immigration law involves a wide degree of discretion. I ran a stop sign during my junior year of high school. Technically, I broke the law by not obeying a traffic sign. Yet, my outcome was drastically different from Ms. Arias-Cristobal’s, but only because of the navy-blue passport in my possession.

This is the reality of the current moment and makes me question what an alternative future for immigrant communities looks like. Law is operating to foster fear, not to keep communities safe.

A Bundle of Sticks

U.S. citizenship represents legal admission into the country. Nodes of property are woven into concepts of citizenship. Property law and immigration law are largely interconnected. The bundle of sticks includes the right to exclude. Deportation represents a form of exile, banishment, and exclusion.

Yet, becoming a U.S. citizen also carries another value set. Immigrants often come to the United States seeking a better life. Immigrants pay taxes. Immigrants own businesses. Through my time with the Legal Aid Society, I learned non-citizens can own businesses in the U.S., and there is no general restriction on foreign ownership of LLCs.

A navy-blue passport represents an opportunity to make a meaningful life, provide for yourself and others, and contribute to society in a meaningful way.

Current U.S. immigration law is functioning to exclude non-citizens from the opportunity to contribute to our nation’s well-being and labor force. Those who want to seek a better life for themselves and their families in the United States can no longer do so. Thus, immigration law conceptually implicates more than just immigration status but represents an opportunity for a better life.

This opportunity is now being closed off for many.

Lawyering for Justice from 2,306 Miles Away

As my time has come to an end at Columbia Law, I’ve been trying to understand what my J.D. represents to me.

Growing up, I always felt like a statistical impossibility. I always “felt at home,” but I was 2,306 miles away from home. In my personal statement, I wrote about wanting to become an advocate. I remember thinking about how a legal education could help me protect others, especially those in the Guatemalan community.

Being a U.S. citizen has cloaked me with a sense of privilege. Yet, it hasn’t erased my Guatemalan identity and the sense of responsibility I will always feel to my people. My degree represents an opportunity to act upon the vision I had for myself when I wrote my personal statement.

My education has changed the trajectory of my life. The Law School is, unfortunately, not accessible to everyone. Many prospective law students from single-parent households find the path to law school unattainable due to the cost. A legal education should not require students to enter six-figure debt. A legal education is more than a degree, but a chance to consistently grapple with most pressing issues in society. My degree has empowered me to run toward danger, work toward justice, and remain steadfastly committed to my Guatemalan roots.

This final semester has been all but easy. This essay is a reflection on my time in Law School, but also a tribute to the journey I’ve traveled as a student, starting from 2,306 miles away.

Legal challenges are swirling each day, but I can ground myself in the value of my degree and what it represents to me: a vision of an alternative future, freedom. We should all take notice of how the current Administration is treating non-citizens. Authority does not appear out of thin air.

A Way Forward

Maya teachings emphasize peace as a virtue and require appreciation for the blessings of life. Graduating from Columbia Law School as a first-generation American is nothing short of a miracle.

The Maya saying goes: “B'a laj k'a' awo' chi ke” which translates to "May your heart be full of love and gratitude." I decided to attend Columbia Law School to learn the law and use law as a mechanism for justice. My adoption from Guatemala has filled my life with opportunities and education. While my people have faced unspeakable horrors, it is in the darkest moments that the Ixil Maya have stood together and found a way forward.

And to my people, I say: B'a laj k'a' awo' chi ke. My degree is our way forward.

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