U.S. News

Passenger Gives Birth on Flight to U.S. Sparking Citizenship Confusion

UP IN THE AIR

The child was born in American airspace.

Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737-800 commercial aircraft as seen on final approach landing at New York JFK John F Kennedy International airport in NY, USA. The B737 airplane has the registration 9Y-TAB and paint on the tail of a hummingbird. Caribbean Airlines Limited BW BWA is the state-owned airline and flag carrier of Trinidad and Tobago, Headquartered in Iere House in Piarco, the airline operates flights to the Caribbean, North America and South America. February 13, 2020 (Photo by Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A passenger gave birth mid-air during a flight to the U.S., raising a question about the child’s citizenship. The delivery happened on Saturday aboard a Caribbean Airlines flight traveling from Kingston, Jamaica to New York City, as the plane made its final approach. Both the mother and newborn received medical attention after landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The airline praised its crew, saying they acted with “professionalism and measured response… ensuring the safety and comfort of all onboard,” and confirmed no emergency was declared. But the birth quickly turned into a legal gray area. Immigration lawyer Brad Bernstein explained: “Now the big question is… is that baby a U.S. citizen?” He said the answer “depends on one thing,” namely, “where exactly that plane was in the sky at the moment of birth.” He explained: “If the baby was born in U.S. airspace, then under the 14th Amendment and State Department regulations, that child is automatically a U.S. citizen. But if the baby was born even a few minutes earlier outside of the United States airspace, not a U.S. citizen.”

Read it at Sky News

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