Trump's Call To End Birthright Citizenship Raises Debate, Impacts Indian-Americans

Once again, president-elect Donald Trump has reiterated his position on birthright citizenship and has called it "ridiculous" and has pledged to look into it after his inauguration on January 20.

Trump's Call To End Birthright Citizenship Raises Debate

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The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship, maintaining that all children born on US territory shall be citizens of the country, irrespective of the parents' immigration status. It has been part of the Constitution now for over one hundred years.

In an interview, Trump stated, "We're going to have to get it changed. Maybe we will have to go back to the people. But we have to end it." His first term had no progress, but this topic found its way into the administration. Proponents of the current solution argue that the practice is exploited by the phenomenon termed 'birth tourism,' in which an individual crosses the borders solely to give birth in the United States so that her child will be born a citizen.

The primary argument for banning birthright citizenship is that it undermines immigration control. Eric Ruark, speaking for NumbersUSA, remarked, "Simply crossing the border and having a child should not confer citizenship to anyone." Trump also claims to have put up a scheme of family unifications which might also be involved deportation of full families including legal citizens for possible separation.

The legal basis for birthright citizenship is found in the 14th Amendment, which 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." Since the president has no unilateral authority to effect changes in the Constitution, any effort to do so would meet with strong legal barriers.

The stakes of undoing birthright citizenship are quite high. According to a 2011 factsheet issued by the American Immigration Council, such a change would make it more difficult for American parents to prove citizenship for their children, with birth certificates-a general proof of citizenship-becoming useless under a new format.

Indian-Americans, undoubtedly a large population in the US, would be adversely affected. Pew Research analyzed the US census of 2022 and estimated that 1.6 million Indian-Americans born in the country now possess citizenship. Citizenship, somewhat difficult to revoke, would now be left dangling over their heads. 

While Trump has gone to re-ignite that debate, some have called into questions the validity of that statement. "I don't take his statements very seriously," said Alex Nowrasteh, vice president at the pro-immigration Cato Institute. He has been saying stuff like this for almost a decade yet he did nothing substantial to work on this agenda when he was president, he added. 

There are allegations that the birthright citizenship legislation affects millions of families and goes much beyond this case into a larger argument about immigration law and constitutional rights within the US.