The election promise of Donald Trump and JD Vance has become a cause of great concern for immigrants, especially Indian-Americans, as it brings uncertainty about their children becoming naturalized US citizens.
A naturalized citizen is a person who becomes a citizen of that country by virtue of being born in that country, if they wish to exercise that option. Should such a person retain citizenship of the country of their ethnicity, they may choose to become a citizen of their country of birth at any time during their lifetime.
Donald Trump vowed to curb naturalized citizenship. This was a part of his campaign document and something he and Vance promised would be accomplished “on day one.”
The expectation is that Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance’s ‘first day’ will focus mostly on the issue of immigration.
During his election campaign, at almost every rally, Mr Trump said that “On Day One, I will start the largest deportation program in American history.” Planning major changes in America’s immigration policy, Mr Trump intends to not only target illegal immigrants but also follow the legal process.
Donald Trump will sign an executive order to curb immigration on the first day of his presidency, according to a document available on his campaign website. The order would “direct federal agencies to require that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident for their future children to automatically become U.S. citizens.”
This means that in the 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 through naturalization. .
Although official figures are not known, the employment-based green card backlog from India is estimated to have crossed the 1 million mark in the first quarter of 2023. The average wait time for a green card (US citizenship) is over 50 years.
This suggests that more than half a million young immigrants who moved to the US to study or work will die before they get citizenship. It also means that nearly a quarter of a million children awaiting their citizenship will cross the legal, permissible age of 21, after which, they will become illegal immigrants if they remain without an alternative visa like a student visa.
Donald Trump’s decision to curb naturalized citizenship will certainly invite litigation over his executive order as legal experts believe it is unconstitutional as it violates the 14th Amendment.
Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the State wherein they reside. Any The state will not do or enforce this.” No 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 any person within its jurisdiction would deny equal protection; Law.”
However, the draft executive order claims that it correctly interprets the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
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 the US, making them naturalized citizens.
Should Donald Trump sign the executive order, the courts would have to decide whether the move would actually be unconstitutional.
