On his first day in office, Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, signed an executive order that targeted birthright citizenship and other immigration laws.
According to Trump’s executive order, children born to undocumented parents shouldn’t be granted US citizenship automatically in an attempt to reinterpret this amendment.
Children Born In US Will No Longer Be Given Citizenship
At the heart of this controversy is the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which ensures citizenship to anyone born in the country.
The 14th Amendment explicitly states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
Millions of Indian-Americans living in the US, many of whom have been waiting for green cards for a long time, are anticipated to be impacted by this policy change.
Birthright citizenship, according to the Trump administration, is “ridiculous” and should be abolished in order to curb illegal immigration. Trump stated in the order: “The 14th Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”
According to critics, this action may further isolate marginalized groups and cause instability for immigrant families, with far-reaching effects on neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.
Thirty days after the executive order is issued, the policy will go into effect, which is expected to cause legal challenges.
Effect Of The Order on Birth Tourism
The policy will have a major effect on families who travel to the United States to give birth, a practice that is popular among Mexican and Indian families.
Birth tourism has been used by families to obtain US citizenship for their children; Trump’s executive order seeks to end this practice.
Approximately 5 million Indian-Americans, or 1.47% of the total population, live in the United States, according to the US Census Bureau.
Only 34% of these Indian-Americans are citizens of the United States; the other two-thirds are immigrants.
Under the new policy, children born to Indian nationals employed in the US on H1-B visas would not be eligible for automatic citizenship.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which emphasizes the clarity of the 14th Amendment’s language on birthright citizenship, has expressed concerns regarding the executive order’s constitutionality.
The ACLU outlined possible dangers associated with the executive order, including mass deportations, family separations, and violations of human rights.
In a press release, the ACLU said: “Immigrants’ rights advocates today sued the Trump administration over its executive order that seeks to strip certain babies born in the United States of their U.S. citizenship.”
Millions of families’ futures are in doubt as a result of the controversy, which has heightened discussions about immigration reform.
It is anticipated that legal challenges will be crucial in deciding how this contentious policy turns out.
The US Constitution’s tenets of justice and equality must be upheld by advocates, legislators, and courts in order for this issue to be resolved.
