Andrea Chavez, who arrived in the United States illegally nearly two decades ago, gave birth to a baby girl in Maryland last year. Within days, the child had a Social Security number.
Ms. Chávez’s cousin María Calderas, who is undocumented and just a few months pregnant, faces the possibility that her child will not be able to gain the same citizenship rights that her niece now has.
On his first day in office, President Trump Issued an order that seeks to end birthright citizenship For children born to undocumented immigrants in the United States. This right has been enshrined in the Constitution for more than 160 years, and experts say eliminating it would require a constitutional amendment.
The incoming administration had made no secret of its intention to attack birthright citizenship, and hours after the order was issued lawsuits were filed by two coalitions of states and American Civil Liberties UnionSaying that the directive violated the citizenship provisions of the 14th Amendment. Many lawyers have also said the same thing.
But for a president who has made immigration a pillar of his agenda, legal hurdles seem beside the point. In fact, the constitution appears to offer little relief for undocumented women like Ms. Calderas, who are expecting to give birth to their babies 30 days after the order went into effect on January 20.
Ms. Calderas, who is from Guatemala, said Mr. Trump’s move had created worry and uncertainty about the future of her family, and especially her son. “I’m worried that the new president doesn’t want to give our child citizenship,” she said. “This is where he will go to school and grow up. He will speak English like an American.”
In interviews, many women said that citizenship would guarantee their children access to health care and other important benefits during childhood, and provide them with a foundation for building successful lives as fully integrated Americans.
The executive order directs federal agencies not to issue documents recognizing U.S. citizenship to children born to mothers in the United States illegally, or on temporary legal status such as work or student visas, unless the father is Green. -Not be a card holder or citizen.
This is an attempt to reinterpret the 14th Amendment, which essentially says that anyone born in the country is a citizen. Ratified after the Civil War, the amendment was intended to ensure that with the end of slavery, the citizenship of black people would be protected.
Mr. Trump and his allies view birthright citizenship as a magnet for illegal immigration and have claimed that undocumented immigrants are not covered by the 14th Amendment.
“Things like this bring millions of people into our country and they enter our country illegally,” Mr. Trump said in a campaign video last year.
Ms. Chávez, who was born in El Salvador, said that after giving birth last year, she was struck by how different her daughter’s life would be from her own, growing up in the United States without legal immigration status.
“She’s my first child, and a first-generation American,” said Ms. Chavez, 23, a graduate student in Brown University’s School of Public Health.
Ms. Chávez, who was brought up in the United States, said, “I had no memory of what I had endured because I didn’t have a single piece of paper that said I was American, even though it was the only country That I know.” She was 4 years old and has temporary legal status through 2023.
“Ivana has her own citizenship, which means she can access resources, travel abroad, attend any college,” he said of his daughter.
Changing the status quo on birthright citizenship would have major impacts on countless children, even if the effort does not survive court challenges.
If they are undocumented, children may be denied driver’s licenses later in life and in-state tuition rates at colleges. He will be barred from holding elected office. He could not join the army.
“These children will be part of a permanent new underclass,” said Kathy Moutino, an immigration attorney who specializes in citizenship.
The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment states that all persons “born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are American citizens. This provision has since been interpreted to apply to almost all children born here, regardless of the status of their parents. But some immigration restrictionists believe there is a legal basis for reducing its scope.
They argue that undocumented children are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, and therefore do not automatically receive citizenship under the amendment. The President’s executive order makes this claim.
This section was last tested in the courts more than a century ago. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court held in 1898 that a child born to Chinese immigrants was a U.S. citizen, despite the Chinese Exclusion Act, which made its parents ineligible for citizenship.
It could take years for a final court decision, which will almost certainly reach the Supreme Court.
University of California professor Gabriel J. “Even assuming there is a strong possibility that these children are actually citizens, there can be a lot of suffering between the time a trial case begins and the time a trial case reaches a final outcome,” Chin said. , Davis, School of Law who recently co-authored a law review article about the 14th Amendment.
Sandra Camacho, 28, was brought to the United States from Mexico when she was 7 years old. She is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which has protected her from deportation and allowed her to work in the country legally. , That status does not grant legal permanent residence.
Ms. Camacho said she was following Mr. Trump’s threats to end birthright citizenship. When she was elected, she felt fortunate that she had already given birth to two children, a boy who is now 4 years old, and a girl who is 4 months old.
“Now I know I have two kids who have made it,” said Ms. Camacho, who lives in Dallas and works in human resources.
“But we want to grow our family, and it’s difficult to make this decision if they don’t have citizenship,” she said. “It is difficult to fathom the possibility that my potential newborn baby could be at risk of deportation.”
The United States is one of at least 30 countries that automatically grant citizenship to anyone born within its borders. Finland, Sweden and Britain are among the countries that restrict such citizenship.
U.S. citizenship is granted not only to children born to immigrants, but also to people working temporarily in the country or so-called birthright tourists, who come to the United States to give birth to an American child while pregnant. Let’s travel to America.
The reach of the executive order is unclear, but it could deny citizenship to children of foreign professionals in the United States on work visas, such as an engineer on an H-1B for several years.
Supporters of ending birthright citizenship deride American-born children of tourists and immigrants as “anchor babies,” meaning they will be used to secure public benefits and legal residency for their families.
When they turn 21, American children can sponsor their parents for a green card. In fact, it is extremely difficult for undocumented parents to obtain a green card through their US citizen children, as to do so they would have to return to their home country and there would be many delays to complete the process. Will have to spend years. Most people prefer not to take the risk, fearing that they may be barred from re-entering the United States.
Yajaira Torres, 33, an undocumented immigrant from Colombia, was scheduled to have a cesarean section on January 24, four days after Mr Trump’s inauguration.
Last week, she got a call from her doctor’s office in Los Angeles informing her that the delivery had been postponed. She gave birth to a child on Friday.
“Ethan Daniels will benefit from all the advantages of being an American,” he said.
Tender, an undocumented Honduran resident of Louisiana, has a 3-year-old daughter born in the United States, and is expecting a boy in April.
“Because her brother was born in the same country, she won’t have the same opportunities to study, get health care and have a stable life,” said Tender, 28, who agreed to the interview on the condition that her Identified only by his first name.
“He hasn’t even been born and he already has to live in hiding,” she said.