President Donald Trump suffered a setback in court over the matter of birthright citizenship in America. A US District Court has issued an order temporarily halting the new executive order he issued to abolish or restrict automatic citizenship for the children of foreign immigrants.
According to the US Constitution, anyone born in the country automatically receives citizenship. However, the Trump administration believed that this right should not apply to the children of immigrants who entered the country illegally, as well as to the children of those on temporary visas. In addition, Trump recently signed new rules aimed at completely curbing “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women come to America solely to obtain citizenship for their children.
Under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, everyone born in the country has equal citizenship rights. Critics and rights groups, arguing that the president’s executive order violates constitutional principles, approached the court. The US District Court that heard the case made it clear that the president does not have the authority to alter this constitutionally guaranteed right through executive orders, and halted the implementation of that order.
Even before this, several of Trump’s decisions related to birthright citizenship had been struck down in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has made it clear that children born on American soil must be considered citizens under the law, regardless of whether their parents are living in the country illegally or are on temporary visas. With these developments, Trump’s attempts to tighten citizenship rules are being repeatedly rejected.
This court ruling has brought great relief to thousands of Indian employees and expatriates living in America. The right to birthright citizenship remains secure for the children of Indian families who have been in the US for decades on temporary work visas such as H-1B and L-1, while waiting for green cards. With the court’s latest order, the concerns expressed among the Indian diaspora have been temporarily alleviated.