NATURALIZATION. The act by which an alien is made a citizen of the United States of America.
The act of adopting a foreigner and cloth ing him with all the privileges of a native born citizen. Osborn v. Bank, 9 Wheat. (U. S.) 827, 6 L. Ed. 204 ; 9 Op. Atty.-Gen. 359.
A nation, or the sovereign who represents it, may grant to a stranger the quality of a citizen, by admitting him into the body of the political society. This is called naturali zation. Vattel, Laws of Nat., bk. 1, ch. xix. §§ 212-214.
It is believed that every state in Christen dom accords to foreigners, with more or less restrictions, the right of naturalization, and that each has some positive law or mode of its own for naturalizing the native-born sub jects of other states, without reference to the consent of the latter for the release of the transfer of the allegiance of such subjects. See Morse, Citizenship, 66.
Naturalization, of itself, conveys no right of suffrage; Pars. Rights, Amer. Citizen 190; though by it a foreigner becomes, to all intents and purposes, a citizen of the United States, with no disability except that he cannot become president or vice president. It does not operate as a bar against prosecution in one's native coun try for prior offences; 2 Whart. Dig. Int. L. § 180. The provision of the constitu tion applies to persons of foreign birth only Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. (U. S.) 419, 15 L. Ed. 691; but not to Mongolians, or Ameri can Indians ; In re Ah Yup, 5 Sawy. 155, Fed. Cas. No. 104 ; 7 Op. Atty. Gen. 746; In re Buntaro Kumagai, 163 Fed. 922 ; In re Knight, 171 Fed. 299; In re Takuji Yama shita, 30 Wash. 234, 70 Pac. 482, 59 L. R. A. 671; and not, formerly, to a freeman of color, born in the United States ; Smith v. Moody, 26 Ind. 299. Indians may be naturalized by act of congress; Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. (U. S.) 393, 15 L Ed. 691.
The term "white" in the naturalization acts has been generally construed to mean only the Caucasian race, and Chinese, Ha waiians, Burmese and Canadian Indians have been refused naturalization; In re Ah'Yup, 5 Sawy. 155, Fed. Cas. No. 104; In re Kan
aka Nian, 6 Utah, 259, 21 Pac. 993, 4 L. R. A. 726; Matter of Po, 7 Misc. 471, 28 N. Y. Supp. 383 ; In re Camille, 6 Fed. 256; as was a half breed whose father was of English birth and parentage and whose mother was half Chinese and half Japanese, though the applicant had served in the United States navy ;. In re Knight, 171 Fed. 299; and a Japanese is held ineligible to citizenship; In re Takuji Yamashita, 30 Wash. 234, 70 Pac. 482, 59 L. R. A. 671. A Mexican of aboriginal descent was admitted because of treaties with Mexico ; In re Rodriguet, 81 Fed. 337 ; a Parsee, though with considerable doubt ; In re Balsara, 171 Fed. 294 ; Syrians in Rhode Island and Georgia, but not in Ne braska ; In re Najour, 174 Fed. 735; and aft Armenian born in Asiatic Turkey ; id., where "white" is said to be a catch-all word and, to include all persons not otherwise classi fied. The son of a German father and a Japanese mother was held ineligible to nat uralization ; In re Young, 198 Fed. 715.
See WHITE PERSONS.
Entire communities have been naturalized by a single act of national sovereignty ; Boyd v. Nebraska, 143 U. S. 135, 12 Sup. Ct. 375, 36 L. Ed. 103. The act of July 14, 1870, ex tended the naturalization laws to persons of African descent. Under R. S. §. 1994, provid ing that "any woman who is now or here after may be married to a citizen of the United States, and who might herself be lawfully naturalized, shall be deemed a citi zen," applies to women of African blood; Broadis v. Broadis, 86 Fed. 951.
An alien over twenty-one years who has enlisted in the United States army may, without previous declaration of intention, be naturalized on one year's residence, good moral character and honorable discharge; Act of July 17, 1862, § 21. An alien seaman may become a citizen by declaring his in tention and serving three years on a mer chant vessel of the United States ; R. S. § 2174.