Honorary citizenship of the United States

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Winston Churchill's identification document as an honorary citizen of the United States, provided as a gift from President John F. Kennedy. Though similar in appearance, it could not function as a passport.[1]

A person of exceptional merit, a non-United States citizen, may be declared an honorary citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress or by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Congress.

Eight people have been so honored, six posthumously, and two, Sir Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, during their lifetimes.

Recipients

Number Name Image Award date Information
1 Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Churchill - 19086236948.jpg 1963 Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, notably during World War II.[2]:{{{3}}}[3][4]
2 Raoul Wallenberg Raoul Wallenberg.jpg 1981
(awarded posthumously)		 Swedish diplomat who rescued Jews in Hungary from the Holocaust.[5]
3 and 4 William Penn William Penn.png November 28, 1984
(awarded posthumously)		 Founder of the Province of Pennsylvania.[6][7]
Hannah Callowhill Penn Hannah-Penn-01.jpg Administrator of the Province of Pennsylvania, second wife of William Penn.[6][7]
5 Mother Teresa MotherTeresa 094.jpg 1996 Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta.[8]
6 Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Gilbert du Motier Marquis de Lafayette.jpg 2002
(awarded posthumously)		 A Frenchman who was an officer in the American Revolutionary War.
7 Casimir Pulaski Kazimierz Pułaski.PNG 2009
(awarded posthumously)		 Polish military officer who fought and died for the United States against the British during the American Revolutionary War; notable politician and member of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth nobility, American brigadier general who has been called "The Father of the American Cavalry" and died during the Siege of Savannah. Remembered as a national hero both in Poland and in the United States.[9][10][11][12]
8 Bernardo de Gálvez, 1st Viscount of Galveston 100px 2014
(awarded posthumously)		 A Spanish officer and colonial governor who was a hero of the American Revolutionary War, risking his life for the freedom of United States citizens; provided supplies, intelligence, and strong military support to the war effort; was wounded during the Siege of Pensacola, demonstrating bravery that forever endeared him to the United States soldiers.[13]

For Lafayette and Mother Teresa, the honor was proclaimed directly by an Act of Congress. In the other cases, an Act of Congress was passed authorizing the President to grant honorary citizenship by proclamation.

Legal issues

What rights and privileges honorary citizenship bestows, if any, is unclear. According to State Department documents, it does not grant eligibility for United States passports.[1]

Public Law 88-6 (1963) granted honorary citizenship to Winston Churchill.

Despite widespread belief that Lafayette received honorary citizenship of the United States before Churchill,[14] he did not receive honorary citizenship until 2002. Lafayette did become a natural-born citizen during his lifetime. On 28 December 1784, the Maryland General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Lafayette and his male heirs "forever shall be...natural born Citizens" of the state.[15] This made him a natural-born citizen of the United States under the Articles of Confederation and as defined in Section 1 of Article Two of the United States Constitution.[16][17]:{{{3}}}[14]:{{{3}}}[18][19][2]

Lafayette boasted in 1792 that he had become an American citizen before the French Revolution created the concept of French citizenship.[20] In 1803, President Jefferson wrote him he would have offered to make him Governor of Louisiana, had he been "on the spot".[21] In 1932, descendant René de Chambrun established his American citizenship based on the Maryland resolution,[22][23] although he was probably ineligible as the inherited citizenship was likely only intended for direct descendants who were heir to Lafayette's estate and title.[24] The Board of Immigration Appeals ruled in 1955 that "it is possible to argue" that Lafayette and living male heirs became American citizens when the Constitution became effective on 4 March 1789, but that heirs born later were not U.S. citizens.[17]

Honorary citizenship should not be confused with citizenship or permanent residency bestowed by a private bill. Private bills are, on rare occasions, used to provide relief to individuals, often in immigration cases, and are also passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. One such statute, granting Elián González U.S. citizenship, was suggested in 1999, but was never enacted.[25]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Proclamation No. 3525—Declaring Sir Winston Churchill an Honorary Citizen of the United States of America (April 9, 1963)
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ H.J. Res. 191 (Pub.L. 104–218, 110 Stat. 3021, enacted October 1, 1996)
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ H.J. Res. 26 (S.J. Res. 12) (Pub.L. 111–94, 123 Stat. 2999, enacted November 6, 2009)
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lafayette again became an honorary citizen of Maryland in 1823, as well as of Connecticut the same year.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 IN THE MATTER OF M, 6 IN Dec. 749 (B.I.A. 1955) (“We need not consider the precise effect of the Maryland act of 1784 upon the political status of Lafayette and such of his male heirs as had been born prior to the date when the Constitution of the United States became effective (March 4, 1789). It is possible to argue that they were citizens of Maryland and under Section 2 of Article IV of the United States Constitution should be considered citizens of the United States. However, we hold that when Congress by legislation set forth the requirements for citizenship, the descendents of Lafayette who were born thereafter could only acquire United States citizenship on the terms specified by Congress, and they were not in a position to acquire such citizenship by virtue of the Maryland act of 1784.”).
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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