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 the President pursuant to an Act of Congress. As of 2007, six people have had this honor bestowed upon them (seventh has been unanimously recognized by the Senate and is awaiting House of Representatives action and the President's signature), and only two of them were so honored during their lifetime:
- Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during World War II (awarded 1963)
- Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa), Albanian Catholic nun, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in India. (1996).
Four individuals received this honor posthumously:
- Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat who rescued Jews in the Holocaust (1981)
- William Penn, 17th and 18th century proprietor and governor of the American colony of Pennsylvania. (1984)
- Hannah Callowhill Penn, second wife of William Penn and administrator of Pennsylvania. (1984)
- Marquis de la Fayette, French aristocrat and general for the Americans in the Revolution (2002)
One person 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):
- Kazimierz Pułaski, Polish General, who fought in the American Revolution (2007)
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 [1].
In February 2007, news services reported that Representative Steve Israel had submitted a bill seeking honorary citizenship for Anne Frank, whose family were denied refuge in the United States during World War II. 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."[2]
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[edit] Notes
- ^ Helms says he aims to offer U.S. citizenship to Elian Gonzalez. CNN, December 23, 1999.
- ^ Steve Israel proposes a bill to grant Honorary Citizenship to Anne Frank Yahoo! News, February 27, 2007.