RE: if you came here illegally and had a child, then that child cannot obtain US citizenship.
That’s one way to look at it, but that doesn’t deal with the issue of those who are here LEGALLY and have a child.
Is your child eligible for citizenship at birth if:
1) One or both of His/her parents are PERMANENT RESIDENTS (i.e. green Card holders )?
2) One or both his/her parents are here legally ( e.g., on working or student visas )?
3) One or both of his/parents are here as diplomats of a foreign country?
1) One or both of His/her parents are PERMANENT RESIDENTS (i.e. green Card holders )
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No, citizens
My naturalization document says that I am now a “permanent resident”
as for the other points, the child of green card holders is a citizen but not an NBC
children of diplomats are not citizens..
"Indeed, during debate over the amendment, Senator Jacob Howard, the author of the citizenship clause, attempted to assure skeptical colleagues that the language was not intended to make Indians citizens of the United States. Indians, Howard conceded, were born within the nation’s geographical limits, but he steadfastly maintained that they were not subject to its jurisdiction because they owed allegiance to their tribes and not to the U.S. Senator Lyman Trumbull, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, supported this view, arguing that “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” meant “not owing allegiance to anybody else and being subject to the complete jurisdiction of the United States.
Jurisdiction understood as allegiance, Senator Howard explained, excludes not only Indians but “persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, [or] who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.” Thus, “subject to the jurisdiction” does not simply mean, as is commonly thought today, subject to American laws or courts. It means owing exclusive political allegiance to the U.S.
I believe the citizenship of the parents has to be the determining factor as it is in most countries. I would say if one parent is a citizen then the child should be a citizen. If neither parent is a citizen then the child’s citizenship should be that of one or both parents.
If someone is here LEGALLY, has children, and later becomes a citizen they should be able to petition for citizenship for their children at that time, not at birth.