Aiming to abolish birthright citizenship, which has existed for more than 150 years, Donald Trump, who is currently serving his second term as president of the United States, signed an executive order on January 20, 2025. This ruling has major ramifications for millions of children born in the United States, particularly for the sizable and expanding Indian-American community, and represents a drastic change in U.S. immigration policy.
What Does Birthright Citizenship Mean?
Regardless of the parents’ citizenship or immigration status, anybody born in the United States is automatically awarded U.S. citizenship under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This clause, which was passed in 1868, was intended to grant citizenship to anybody born in the United States, with a focus on former slaves following the Civil War. The 14th Amendment’s pertinent section reads as follows:
Everyone who was born or naturalized in the US and falls under its jurisdiction is a citizen of both the US and the state in which they currently reside.
This right has given millions of people U.S. citizenship, including children born to immigrants, whether or not they have legal status, and has been essential to guaranteeing equal protection under the law.
Trump’s Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship
President Trump has formally started the process of ending the automatic citizenship of children born in the United States to non-citizen parents by signing this executive order. According to his executive order, a child born in the United States must have at least one parent who is a citizen, a legal permanent resident (holder of a green card), or a member of the armed forces in order for the child to become a citizen.
Trump’s drive to abolish birthright citizenship has been presented as a component of a larger initiative to prevent illegal immigration and “birth tourism,” which refers to the practice of women coming to the United States intentionally to give birth in order for their offspring to be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. Trump has claimed that this system is being abused, especially by citizens of nations like China and India that have huge immigration rates to the United States. Children born to parents on temporary work visas (such as H-1B) or those seeking green cards are essentially denied immediate citizenship by the executive order.
Legal Challenges to the Executive Order
The executive order was signed by President Trump, but its legitimacy is still up for debate. Since the 14th Amendment is a component of the U.S. Constitution, changing any of its provisions usually necessitates a lengthy and challenging constitutional amendment. No president has used an executive order to unilaterally terminate birthright citizenship to date.
Significant challenges to the decision are already anticipated in federal courts, according to legal experts. In the historic decision of United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed birthright citizenship, holding that a child born in the United States to non-citizen parents was nevertheless a citizen of the United States. Trump’s executive order has been criticized for failing to uphold constitutional rights without following the amendment process, which calls for a two-thirds majority in the states and a supermajority in Congress.
However, the order is expected to spark years-long legal disputes, leaving the millions of people impacted in the dark.
How Will This Affect Indian-Americans?
This shift will have a significant influence on the Indian-American community, one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the United States. Over 4.8 million Indian-Americans reside in the United States, according to the U.S. Census, and a sizable percentage of them were born here and are therefore citizens by birthright.
Children born to Indian nationals on temporary work visas (such as the H-1B visa) or awaiting green cards will no longer automatically obtain U.S. citizenship if the executive order’s proposed policy changes are implemented. Each year, hundreds of thousands of children born to Indian immigrants in the United States may be impacted by this.
Indian-American families would be affected in the following significant ways:
Children of Indian Immigrants Would Lose Automatic Citizenship
Nowadays, a kid born to Indian parents in the United States, regardless of whether they have green cards, H-1B visas, or are even undocumented, becomes a citizen of the United States. However, the new order would only provide citizenship to children born to at least one parent who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. For families who depend on their children’s citizenship as a means of obtaining permanent residency and, eventually, citizenship themselves, this would be a big shift.
For many Indian parents, especially those on H-1B visas, having a child born in the United States has been a surefire way to get their kids U.S. citizenship. These kids would have to go through the naturalization procedure themselves or risk having their legal status undetermined if they didn’t have birthright citizenship.
Longer Wait Times for Green Card Holders
Many Indian-Americans have been waiting for decades to get permanent residency, and a sizable section of the population is caught up in the backlog of green cards in the United States. Children born to Indian nationals on H-1B or other temporary visas currently immediately become citizens of the United States, giving them easier access to legal alternatives as they grow up. Children born to Indian nationals in the United States, however, will have to apply for citizenship through a considerably more drawn-out and complicated process if this policy is repealed, which might prolong their journey to full U.S. citizenship by years.
Furthermore, if their children no longer meet the requirements for automatic citizenship, Indian immigrants in the United States on temporary visas may encounter further difficulties in obtaining residency for their offspring. Given that parents could have to deal with a more difficult and drawn-out immigration process, this would probably result in more family separations.
Implications for Family Reunification
One of the main ways that immigrants in the United States bring their family members to the country is through family-based immigration. Under birthright citizenship, a child born in the United States may petition for their parents’ immigration after they become 21. Many children born to Indian parents would eventually be unable to assist in reunifying their family under current U.S. immigration regulations if birthright citizenship were removed.
The executive order may also make things more difficult for families with U.S.-born children who are already dealing with deportation or visa problems. If birthright citizenship is abolished, there may be situations when parents’ and children’s immigration statuses cause families to fall apart.
The End of Birth Tourism to the U.S.
One of the main justifications for Trump’s executive order is to stop “birth tourism,” in which foreigners come to the United States especially to give birth to a kid who will instantly become a citizen of the United States. There have been reports of Indian nationals using this strategy, especially as the number of Indian individuals traveling to the United States on business or tourism visas continues to rise.
The many families who have not participated in “birth tourism” but who depend on the ability to grant citizenship to their children for reasons including family reunification and assuring a long-term future in the United States will also be impacted by Trump’s order, even though it may lessen this activity.
Potential Impact on Indian Students
One of the biggest groups of overseas students in the United States is Indian, particularly in the engineering and technology sectors. Children born to Indian students on F-1 visas or other non-immigrant visa categories would not automatically be granted U.S. citizenship if the birthright citizenship policy were to change. This would create additional challenges for students and their families as they try to remain in the country after graduation.
Uncertainty for Immigrant Families
For Indian families residing in the United States, the executive order terminating birthright citizenship has significant ramifications. There will be a legal limbo if the legislation changes, especially for children born to Indian immigrants who are either in the green card line or on temporary work visas. Although this change in legislation would lessen “birth tourism,” it runs the danger of increasing ambiguity and difficulties for families that have long resided in and contributed to the United States.
