Redistribution and moral consistency: arguments for granting automatic citizenship to refugees

Infants born to those resident in a particular state are generally granted automatic citizenship, which in most Global North states confers a range of privileges, and may therefore be seen as the untaxed inheritance of lifelong access to valuable resources. In this article I contend, via two arguments, that all refugees should also be granted automatic citizenship within Global North states, where “refugee” is broadly defined to include all those seeking asylum, whether from persecution, poverty, natural disaster, or environmental degradation. First, I argue that granting refugees citizenship within Global North states may serve as a form of distributive justice. Second, I show that the same moral reasoning that motivates automatic citizenship for newborns compels the automatic citizenship of refugees, and that resources should not be effectively held in reserve for the future children of residents while existing refugees stand in need. Finally, some counterarguments are anticipated and tackled.