What is Superman's intergalactic immigration status anyway?
This is a repost of something I wrote before. There's some interesting aspects of Superman which haven't really been explored in comics or anywhere else. This is one I think should be explored.
Superman's comic book, Action Comics, recently made mainstream headlines for protecting illegal immigrants from an angry anti-immigration American. Conservative media hated it while more centrist and left leaning media seemed to praise it. But that got me thinking, what exactly is Superman's intergalactic immigration status anyway?
I mean, he clearly didn't get authorization from any Earth government to travel there. It's not like Jor-El and Lara had time to file paperwork and wait for approval while their planet was blowing up. In some versions of his origin it's more of a desperate decision then a conscious choice. Particularly in cases where Brainiac destroys the planet. And we know from the various other alien species in the DC Universe that not all alien races look humanoid.
Some are like Krypton and Earth and Daxam, but a lot of them aren't, so his parents didn't really have much in the way of choices. Particularly because in some cases Daxam is a sister planet to Krypton and gets destroyed or damaged along with Krypton.
But even if Kal-El's parents did have time to file paperwork, who would they even file it with?
The obvious answer would be the Green Lantern Corps, given that they essentially are the defacto space police of the galaxy, with at least one Lantern assigned to each sector. But they don't seem to be doing that good a job at policing the galaxy anyway, since baby Kal-El, Kara Zor-El, J'on J'ones and pretty much any race in the galaxy seems to be able to access Earth with no problems.
Not to mention even if they were doing their jobs, which Lantern Corp would it be reported to? With the emotional spectrum being so vast and the existence of the Blue Lanterns, Red Lanterns, Yellow Lanterns, etc. which one is looking out for Earth's safety from literal illegal aliens?
This is not even including all the terrible villains like the White Martians, Thanagarians, Brainiac, evil Kryptonians like Zod and other invaders who seem to have no problem attempting to destroy humanity on a regular basis.
Is it any wonder that in the 30th Century of the Legion of Superheroes that Earth has become xenophobic and all about Earth for Earthlings?
Yet the closest I've seen to anything resembling an attempt to deal with Superman's intergalactic immigration status is from the TV series Smallville, where fake adoption papers were drawn up to make him appear to be an orphan that the Kents adopted. The more recent series of Supergirl talks about such issues on occasion but any real thought on the matter tends to get pushed to the side once the next big crisis hits.
Does Earth One, or Earth 1 or Earth Prime or Prime Earth even have anything on the books in a legal sense to deal with rampant intergalactic immigration? Should it? What exactly would that policy be and how would be enforced? Is there an intergalactic United Planets group that has a blanket policy on these matters which Earth can go to for dispute resolution?
The Green Lantern Corps would be the obvious choice but they're hardly diplomatic about these things. They're very hard line against invaders and other criminals and destructive types but appear to have no policy on immigration.
Clearly, what needs to be done is the implementation of an intergalactic DACA program for people like Superman and Supergirl who came as children. The more adult aliens should be dealt with on a case by case basis.
But this brings up another major problem, Kryptonians are clearly refugees with no home to be sent to. Other aliens can often meet this fate as well, could an adult alien apply for amnesty or refugee status under those circumstances? Should these refugees get to choose the planet they're sent to?
Do individual nation states on Earth have the right to call upon the Green Lantern Corps or any other Corps to deport these people or would a planetary government need to be in place so that an official request can be made? What about regions within those nations such as provinces, territories, etc.?
Superman revoked his American citizenship in 2011, but how exactly did he get citizenship in the first place? And what exactly is his legal status since he did that?
He also appears to have annexed a section of the North Pole for his fortress of solitude. Does that make it a Kryptonian nation on Earth?
This seems like a logistical nightmare on so many levels.