Donald trump won the 47th president in what is regarded as the largest comeback in American presidential election history, but the win still worries immigrant couples, particularly indians, who fear that automatic citizenship for children may be terminated.
Eliminating children's automatic citizenship is at the top of the billionaire's lengthy list of priorities. On the official Trump-Vance campaign website, the proposal calls for signing an executive order to that effect on the first day of the campaign. As stated in the draft executive order, "It will direct federal agencies to require that at least one parent be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to become automatic US citizens," the problem would not just affect illegal immigrants.
What Does The Order Mean?
“The trump plan suggests no automatic citizenship for children born in the US. This is almost certainly a contravention of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution. A supreme court judgment is available to counter Trump’s misinterpretation," Rajiv S. Khanna, immigration attorney told TOI.
Immigration lawyer Greg Siskind went on to discuss the step's validity, saying, "This will definitely be litigated as it violates the 14th Amendment." We'll have to watch whether they go so far as to bar children of US citizens who are lawfully there.
What does it mean for the indian diaspora?
When the executive order is enacted, it will be a significant blow to the indian diaspora because the United Nations is home to 4.8 indian Americans, of whom 34%, or 1.6 million, were born in the United States. Children born to indian couples who are not US citizens nor permanent residents with green cards would not be eligible for automatic citizenship in the future if this presidential order is approved. Children of indian couples waiting in line for a green card at least had a reprieve because they were citizens by birth. At least their children were guaranteed stability on the immigration front if not themselves.
When it comes to granting green cards, indians are given the short end of the stick; many of them are employed in the US on H-1B visas and are stuck in a backlog that dates back decades. Together with any unused family-sponsored green cards that can be included in this category, the yearly maximum for employment-based green cards is set at 140,000. Furthermore, no nation may get more than 7% of all green cards under the job or family-based categories. indian candidates in the employment-based category are disproportionately impacted by this limitation.