Folarin Balogun Represents USA Amidst Citizenship Debates

Washington DC. Co-host USA defeated Paraguay in their first match, where he scored two goals and made an impressive presence in the World Cup. But Folarin Balogun is representing the USA only because of a coincidence of his birth.

The irony is that this talented striker of the country is someone whom President Donald Trump would consider ineligible for citizenship under his strict immigration agenda.

This World Cup is taking place against a backdrop already surrounded by immigration and visa controversies. The US Supreme Court is preparing to rule on the President's executive order and the fundamental meaning of citizenship within weeks.

Balogun, 24, a product of Arsenal's youth academy, could have chosen to play for England or Nigeria. However, much earlier than that, circumstances arose that gave him the opportunity to represent the USA.

In the summer of 2001, Balogun's Nigerian parents lived in London when they traveled to New York. That trip proved decisive. When airline staff realized Balogun's mother was heavily pregnant, she was not allowed to board the flight back home. Instead of being born in the capital of England, he was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 3, 2001.

The Controversial Issue of Birthright Citizenship

Because he was born in Brooklyn, Balogun automatically obtained US citizenship under the birthright citizenship law based on the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Trump's executive order aims to deny citizenship to children of individuals who are in the US illegally or who entered on temporary visas (such as tourist visas). As part of a broader effort to reform the country's immigration system, the administration claims it is to combat