Donald Trump to end Birthright Citizenship; Here is how it could affect millions including Indians
Birthright Citizenship, or citizenship by birth, is a provision in the US Constitution under which anyone born on American soil becomes a citizen, irrespective of their parents' nationality or whether they are in the country legally or not.
US President-elect Donald Trump has made it clear that he would move quickly, after assuming office on January 20, 2025, to end Birthright Citizenship in the country. Trump called it ridiculous and claimed it encourages illegal immigration and ¡°birth tourism.¡±
What is Birthright Citizenship
Birthright Citizenship, or citizenship by birth, is a provision in the US Constitution under which anyone born on American soil becomes a citizen, irrespective of their parents' nationality or whether they are in the country legally or not.
CREDIT: REUTERS
How Birthright Citizenship is being exploited
Birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, effectively gives citizenship to anyone solely on the fact that they were born within the borders of the US. This could mean that the children of an illegal immigrant or a temporary visa holder could become US citizens by birth.
Birthright citizenship has become a major issue in recent years, with many illegal immigrants who were facing deportation challenging it, arguing that their children born in the US are US citizens and thus cannot be deported to another country.
The issue of birthright citizenship also came up during the mass layoffs by tech companies in the US in recent years. A large section of the techies who were laid off were H1-B visa holders who were in the US on a temporary work visa. After they were laid off, the H1-B visa holders had just 60 days to find a new job or face deportation. This left many of them in a difficult spot, where they could be separated from their US-born children.
CREDIT: Unsplash
How it will affect immigrant families
If Trump succeeds in ending Birthright Citizenship, it would affect millions of Indians who are in the US on temporary visas and do not hold citizenship. According to Pew Research, there are around 1.6 million Indian-Americans who were born in the country, including many whose parents don't hold citizenship, leaving them with an uncertain future.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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