![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/07\/image-1024x746.png?resize=1024%2C746&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
What does that even mean? Orphans from other countries cease to be immigrants? That\u2019s would be news to the 3-year-olds defending themselves in immigration court<\/a> if they were allowed social media in their cages. Is he making a scienter argument that a child arriving in this country through no act of their own deserves citizenship? The Fifth Circuit disagrees<\/a>. But even DACA is about a path to legal status\u2026 they\u2019re still immigrants. <\/p>\n As an aside, imagine being Steeze and knowing that no matter what vile, insipid garbage you put out, you\u2019ll never even be the most vile or insipid Stephen Miller<\/em> out there. That\u2019s got to be rough. <\/p>\n Superman\u2019s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, drew upon their experience as the children of Jewish immigrants, unveiling an American hero who came to the country as a refugee. It\u2019s a message that hit hard in the late-1930s as American nativism closed doors on European Jews trying to flee. That the purest expression of all-American idealism is an immigrant is the core of the character \u2014 he\u2019s compelling because he\u2019s America\u2019s savior not because he was born here, but because he believes in what \u201chere\u201d can be. Stripping the character of that context is like having Peter Parker\u2019s Uncle move to Boca and die of old age. <\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing to not understand the character, but \u2014 the even greater sin \u2014 it doesn\u2019t make any sense legally<\/em>.<\/p>\n Clark Kent was not born in the United States. Neither of his parents were citizens. He arrived as an undocumented, unaccompanied minor. <\/p>\n That sure seems like an immigrant under all applicable laws. The Kents took on the job of raising him, adoption doesn\u2019t automatically confer citizenship<\/a> under U.S. law. Even if the Kents tried to go through the legal process of adopting him instead of just lying about it. If they\u2019re just sponsoring an undocumented minor, they\u2019d best watch their back because the Trump administration has begun a systematic crackdown on those sponsors too<\/a> \u2014 ostensibly for child safety \u2014 looking to separate kids from their caregivers and then\u2026 oops, there\u2019s no one to watch them so it\u2019s time to send them back<\/em>! <\/p>\n Where would they even send Clark with Krypton gone? Well, South Sudan is lovely this time of year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Clark could potentially benefit from the Foundling Statute \u2014 8 U.S. Code \u00a7 1401(f) \u2014 providing that anyone of \u201cunknown parentage found in the United States while under the age of five years\u201d is presumptively a U.S. citizen unless proof of being born elsewhere is established prior to turning 21. But the proverbial ship on that one sailed when the Kents found his literal ship. It\u2019s a difficult presumption to maintain when you\u2019re holding the kid\u2019s interstellar Uber in the barn.<\/p>\n And the Foundling law is predicated on birthright citizenship \u2014 since it turns on the idea that a 4-year-old in the country was probably born here and therefore a citizen \u2014 and the same people who don\u2019t want Superman to be an immigrant aren\u2019t too crazy about birthright citizenship. There\u2019s actually a dumb alternate Superman origin where his escape pod was actually a birthing module, meaning he was actually \u201cborn\u201d in Kansas. Randy Barnett and Ilan Wurman are already working on the op-ed explaining why that shouldn\u2019t matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just no legal argument for Clark being anything but an immigrant. In the past, this didn\u2019t bother conservatives who would celebrate Superman for being a \u201cgood\u201d assimilationist immigrant. Clay Travis is at least trying that angle, though his arguments (technically his wife\u2019s) for Superman as MAGA-certified immigrant are almost as bad as the arguments that he\u2019s not an immigrant at all.<\/p>\n Oh, Superman is an asylum seeker? Great point. The administration is nabbing asylum seekers from court hearings and disregarding orders barring deportation. He has nowhere to go back to? DHS is happy to find a third country for him\u2026 indeed, they won\u2019t even let him seek asylum without checking in with another country first<\/a>. He has unique talents that benefit the country as described by the EB-1A visa? That requires pre-existing<\/em> acclaim in the candidate\u2019s specific field. DHS requires the immigrant to show up with an Oscar or a Pulitzer in hand to qualify (seriously, those are specific examples from the USCIS website<\/a>). Superman didn\u2019t have pre-existing acclaim as a baby. As a baby he was just a potty training nightmare for the Kents. And as for his talents outside of superpowers, I think Lois is the one winning a Pulitzer, not Clark. But at least Travis is trying<\/em> to make MAGA accept immigrant Superman instead of reject him out of hand.<\/p>\n But what he doesn\u2019t get is that they don\u2019t want<\/em> to accept an immigrant. Now that they\u2019ve thrown off the hood \u2014 or put it on as the case may be \u2014 and decided good immigrants don\u2019t exist unless mail-ordered by an incel. The assimilationist narrative that Travis wants has always been there for Superman too, but what\u2019s raising conservative hackles is they don\u2019t want assimilation, they just want them out. So they\u2019re tying themselves in knots trying to figure out how the last son of Krypton is really a son of Kansas because they don\u2019t want EB-1A Clark Kent, they need him to not be an immigrant at all<\/em>. And there\u2019s no good argument for that. <\/p>\n And just wait until they hear about his cousin Kara chain migrating.<\/p>\n The post MAGA Desperate To Prove Superman Isn\u2019t An Immigrant But The Law Is Clear<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a new Superman movie out this week and it\u2019s proving to be the right-wing\u2019s kryptonite.<\/p>\n In the lead up to the film\u2019s release, the folks behind the movie have been up front that it\u2019s an immigrant story. This shouldn\u2019t come as a shock since the character is almost a century old and has been an immigrant THE WHOLE TIME, but since the conservative movement is just a bad-faith book club for people who never read the book, they\u2019ve launched a broadside against the movie.<\/p>\n What does that even mean? Orphans from other countries cease to be immigrants? That\u2019s would be news to the 3-year-olds defending themselves in immigration court<\/a> if they were allowed social media in their cages. Is he making a scienter argument that a child arriving in this country through no act of their own deserves citizenship? The Fifth Circuit disagrees<\/a>. But even DACA is about a path to legal status\u2026 they\u2019re still immigrants. <\/p>\n As an aside, imagine being Steeze and knowing that no matter what vile, insipid garbage you put out, you\u2019ll never even be the most vile or insipid Stephen Miller<\/em> out there. That\u2019s got to be rough. <\/p>\n Superman\u2019s creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, drew upon their experience as the children of Jewish immigrants, unveiling an American hero who came to the country as a refugee. It\u2019s a message that hit hard in the late-1930s as American nativism closed doors on European Jews trying to flee. That the purest expression of all-American idealism is an immigrant is the core of the character \u2014 he\u2019s compelling because he\u2019s America\u2019s savior not because he was born here, but because he believes in what \u201chere\u201d can be. Stripping the character of that context is like having Peter Parker\u2019s Uncle move to Boca and die of old age. <\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing to not understand the character, but \u2014 the even greater sin \u2014 it doesn\u2019t make any sense legally<\/em>.<\/p>\n Clark Kent was not born in the United States. Neither of his parents were citizens. He arrived as an undocumented, unaccompanied minor. <\/p>\n That sure seems like an immigrant under all applicable laws. The Kents took on the job of raising him, adoption doesn\u2019t automatically confer citizenship<\/a> under U.S. law. Even if the Kents tried to go through the legal process of adopting him instead of just lying about it. If they\u2019re just sponsoring an undocumented minor, they\u2019d best watch their back because the Trump administration has begun a systematic crackdown on those sponsors too<\/a> \u2014 ostensibly for child safety \u2014 looking to separate kids from their caregivers and then\u2026 oops, there\u2019s no one to watch them so it\u2019s time to send them back<\/em>! <\/p>\n Where would they even send Clark with Krypton gone? Well, South Sudan is lovely this time of year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Clark could potentially benefit from the Foundling Statute \u2014 8 U.S. Code \u00a7 1401(f) \u2014 providing that anyone of \u201cunknown parentage found in the United States while under the age of five years\u201d is presumptively a U.S. citizen unless proof of being born elsewhere is established prior to turning 21. But the proverbial ship on that one sailed when the Kents found his literal ship. It\u2019s a difficult presumption to maintain when you\u2019re holding the kid\u2019s interstellar Uber in the barn.<\/p>\n And the Foundling law is predicated on birthright citizenship \u2014 since it turns on the idea that a 4-year-old in the country was probably born here and therefore a citizen \u2014 and the same people who don\u2019t want Superman to be an immigrant aren\u2019t too crazy about birthright citizenship. There\u2019s actually a dumb alternate Superman origin where his escape pod was actually a birthing module, meaning he was actually \u201cborn\u201d in Kansas. Randy Barnett and Ilan Wurman are already working on the op-ed explaining why that shouldn\u2019t matter<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just no legal argument for Clark being anything but an immigrant. In the past, this didn\u2019t bother conservatives who would celebrate Superman for being a \u201cgood\u201d assimilationist immigrant. Clay Travis is at least trying that angle, though his arguments (technically his wife\u2019s) for Superman as MAGA-certified immigrant are almost as bad as the arguments that he\u2019s not an immigrant at all.<\/p>\n Oh, Superman is an asylum seeker? Great point. The administration is nabbing asylum seekers from court hearings and disregarding orders barring deportation. He has nowhere to go back to? DHS is happy to find a third country for him\u2026 indeed, they won\u2019t even let him seek asylum without checking in with another country first<\/a>. He has unique talents that benefit the country as described by the EB-1A visa? That requires pre-existing<\/em> acclaim in the candidate\u2019s specific field. DHS requires the immigrant to show up with an Oscar or a Pulitzer in hand to qualify (seriously, those are specific examples from the USCIS website<\/a>). Superman didn\u2019t have pre-existing acclaim as a baby. As a baby he was just a potty training nightmare for the Kents. And as for his talents outside of superpowers, I think Lois is the one winning a Pulitzer, not Clark. But at least Travis is trying<\/em> to make MAGA accept immigrant Superman instead of reject him out of hand.<\/p>\n But what he doesn\u2019t get is that they don\u2019t want<\/em> to accept an immigrant. Now that they\u2019ve thrown off the hood \u2014 or put it on as the case may be \u2014 and decided good immigrants don\u2019t exist unless mail-ordered by an incel. The assimilationist narrative that Travis wants has always been there for Superman too, but what\u2019s raising conservative hackles is they don\u2019t want assimilation, they just want them out. So they\u2019re tying themselves in knots trying to figure out how the last son of Krypton is really a son of Kansas because they don\u2019t want EB-1A Clark Kent, they need him to not be an immigrant at all<\/em>. And there\u2019s no good argument for that. <\/p>\n And just wait until they hear about his cousin Kara chain migrating.<\/p>\n The post MAGA Desperate To Prove Superman Isn\u2019t An Immigrant But The Law Is Clear<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a new Superman movie out this week and it\u2019s proving to be the right-wing\u2019s kryptonite. In the lead up to the film\u2019s release, the folks behind the movie have been up front that it\u2019s an immigrant story. This shouldn\u2019t come as a shock since the character is almost a century old and has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":126385,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Headshot-300x200-nQ67Bq.jpeg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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Joe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nJoe Patrice<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. Feel free to\u00a0email<\/a> any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n