Omnibus Second Missouri Compromise (Entry 1122.MA0624)
Jan 29, 2026
Linus Chan, Minneapolis-based immigration lawyer and law professor who runs a legal clinic for people detained by ICE. He traces the constitutional history of citizenship, retells the Missouri Compromise story and its 36°30' line, and debates how compromises shaped rights, travel, and later crises in American law.
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Refugee Parents And Bicultural Childhood
- Linus Chan describes his parents fleeing China and becoming refugees in Hong Kong before coming to the U.S. for college, giving personal context to his immigrant background.
- He recounts learning English from cartoons and returning to Hong Kong as a child, illustrating bicultural upbringing and citizenship questions.
Birthright Citizenship Hit Home
- Linus explains his birth in the U.S. means he'd be excluded by the Trump-era executive order altering birthright citizenship, making the topic personally relevant.
- He recalls returning to Hong Kong as a child and initially hearing English as a foreign, chicken-like language before losing fluency.
Person Vs. Citizen In The Constitution
- The Constitution mostly uses "person" not "citizen," creating ambiguity about which protections attach to citizenship versus personhood.
- This ambiguity shaped 19th-century fights over rights, travel, and who counts as a citizen.
