Honorary Citizen of the United States
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A non-United States citizen of exceptional merit may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress, or by a proclamation issued by the President pursuant to authorization granted by Congress. As of 2008, six people have had this honor bestowed upon them (the seventh has been unanimously recognized by the Senate and is awaiting House of Representatives action and the President's signature), and only three of them were so honored during their lifetime:
- General Lafayette, a Frenchman who was an officer in the American Revolution, posthumously, (1824, 2002) [1]
- Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during World War II, (1963)
- Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat who rescued Jews in the Holocaust, posthumously, (1981)
- William Penn, 17th and 18th century proprietor and governor of the American colony of Pennsylvania, posthumously, (1984)
- Hannah Callowhill Penn, second wife of William Penn and administrator of Pennsylvania, posthumously, (1984)
- Mother Teresa, Albanian Catholic nun, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in India. (1996). [2]
In the case of the Marquis de La Fayette, the last person to be granted honorary citizenship as of 2007, the honor was proclaimed directly by Act of Congress. This was also the case for Mother Theresa. In some of the previous cases, an Act of Congress was passed authorizing the president to grant honorary citizenship by proclamation.
Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish General, who fought in the American Revolution, is in the process of having it granted (March 19, 2007 unanimously voted by the Senate; awaiting House of Representatives action and the President's signature)
In February 2007, news services reported that Representative Steve Israel had submitted a bill seeking honorary citizenship for Anne Frank, whose family was denied refuge in the United States during World War II. Representative Israel said that Anne Frank "has come to represent the 1.5 million Jewish children killed during the Holocaust that were denied the chance to leave a lasting mark on the world. For the many readers of her diary, Anne Frank is a symbol of bravery and hope and is a personal link to the heartbreaking tragedy of the Holocaust."[3]
An Honorary Citizen of the United States does not appear to have the same rights as a regular US citizen. For example, 7 FAM 1172 from the Foreign Affairs Manual of the State Department states explicitly that honorary US citizens are not eligible for US passports. At present, it is unclear what rights honorary citizenship bestows to an individual, if any at all.
Honorary citizenship is not to 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 Elian Gonzalez U.S. citizenship, was suggested in 1999, but was never enacted [4].
A periodic segment on The Late Late Show documented host Craig Ferguson's progress in obtaining honorary citizenship of individual U.S. states and cities. A number of governors and mayors have granted him honorary state or city citizenship, including the states of Alaska and Nevada.[5] This campaign should not be taken seriously; according to the show, "honorary citizenship is legally meaningless." However, Ferguson obtained regular U.S. citizenship by the usual means of naturalization in 2008.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Public Law 107-209
- ^ H. J.Res.191
- ^ Steve Israel proposes a bill to grant Honorary Citizenship to Anne Frank Yahoo! News, February 27, 2007.
- ^ Helms says he aims to offer U.S. citizenship to Elian Gonzalez. CNN, December 23, 1999.
- ^ The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, episode first aired on June 27, 2007
- ^ Craig Ferguson passes citizenship test. Associated Press (via USATODAY.com), January 28, 2008.
[edit] External links
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