**Why No One Is Deporting the Pilgrims: A Question With Deep Roots** *A question that circulates widely online, "When will the Pilgrims or European immigrants get deported?", is usually asked as a pointed joke. It also raises real questions about history, law, and who gets to decide who belongs.* The Pilgrims landed in 1620 in territory of the Wampanoag, whose communities had already been devastated by disease. Over the next centuries, treaties were signed and broken, land was taken, and Native nations were forced from their homelands. Tribal citizenship and U.S. citizenship were often denied to Native people, and Congress did not extend citizenship to all Native Americans until 1924. **The legal answer is simple.** Deportation applies only to noncitizens, and the 14th Amendment grants citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil. The Pilgrims died centuries ago, and their descendants, like those of most European immigrants, are citizens. No legal mechanism exists to remove them, and few serious voices propose one. **The moral argument is more complicated.** Critics of the question say it equates modern immigrants with historical colonizers, which ignores that today's migrants hold no power over past conquests. Others note the framing is mostly rhetorical, meant to expose what they see as a double standard in debates over who is "legal" and who is "illegal." Many Native advocates say the real issue isn't removal but accountability. Their goals include honoring treaties, returning some public lands to tribal stewardship (the "Land Back" movement), strengthening tribal sovereignty, and teaching more accurate history. Some tribes have successfully regained land through purchases, legal settlements, and transfers. **Where the debate divides:** - *Supporters of stricter immigration enforcement* argue that nations have the right to set entry rules, and that this is separate from historical grievances.