Donald Trump and JD Vance’s campaign promise has become a cause of major concern for immigrants, especially Indian-Americans, as it brings uncertainty about their children becoming naturalised US citizens.
A naturalised citizen is a person who becomes a citizens of a country by virtue of being born in that nation, should they wish to exercise that option. Should such a person keep the citizenship of the country of their ethnicity, they can choose to become the citizen of the country of birth any time they want during their lifetime.
Donald Trump had vowed to curb naturalised citizenship. It was a part of his campaign document and a pledge he and Vance promised would be done on “Day 1”.
What is expected is that much of the focus on ‘Day 1’ for Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance will be over the issue of immigration.
During his election campaign, at almost each of his rallies Mr Trump had said that “On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.” Planning big changes to US’s immigration policy, Mr Trump doesn’t just intend on targeting illegal immigrants, but also go after the legal process.
As per the document available on Donald Trump’s campaign website he will sign an executive order on the first day of his presidency to curb immigration. The order 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.”
This means that in future, children who are born in the US but neither of their parents is a US citizen or permanent resident (PR), may not be eligible for automatic citizenship via naturalisation.
Though the official figures are not known, it is estimated that the employment-based green card backlog from India had crossed the 1 million mark in the first quarter of 2023. The average wait time for a green card (US Citizenship) is more than 50 years.
It suggests that more than half-a-million young immigrants who moved to the US for study or work will likely die before they get their citizenship. It also means that nearly a quarter-million children, awaiting their citizenship, will cross the legal, permissible age of 21, beyond which, they would become illegal immigrants should they stay beyond that without an alternate visa – like a student visa.
Donald Trump’s decision to curb naturalised citizenship will certainly invite litigation to his executive order as legal experts believe it is unconstitutional as it violates the 14th Amendment.
Section 1 of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution states that “All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
However, the draft of the executive order claims that it has interpreted the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution correctly.
According to Pew Research’s analysis of the 2022 US census, there are an estimated 4.8 million Indian-Americans who have made the US their home. Of these, 1.6 million Indian-Americans were born and raised in America, making them naturalised citizens.
Should Donald Trump sign the executive order, the courts will have to decide if the move indeed would be unconstitutional.
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