A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court has the potential to empower a Trump executive order that aims to restrict birthright citizenship.
This development raises concerns about the citizenship status of children born in the United States, particularly for those whose parents are undocumented or hold temporary visas.
Charlotte immigration attorney Andres Lopez commented on the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that it limits the authority of lower courts.
“They basically cut off the amount of power they have and ceded the power to the executive to do something that they want to do, even if it’s wrong,” he said.
The executive order specifically targets children born in the U.S. to parents without legal status, suggesting these children could be denied citizenship.
This recent ruling means legal protections may differ across states, as lower courts are prohibited from issuing nationwide injunctions, thus granting more authority to the executive branch.
As a result, the executive order could be enforced in states that have not joined lawsuits opposing it.
North Carolina, for example, is among those challenging the order, ensuring that children born there are still entitled to their citizenship rights under the 14th Amendment.
However, in South Carolina, children born could face denial of their citizenship rights if the order takes effect.
Statistics from the Migration Policy Institute indicate that annually, over 200,000 children are born to non-birthright immigrant parents.
If the birthright citizenship is removed, it is projected that by 2045, nearly three million children could be at risk of being considered undocumented.
This uncertainty is weighing heavily on many immigrant parents, like Ferdinand Francis, who moved from India in 2010.
Francis, a tech worker in Charlotte, is currently on a work visa along with his wife and two children.
“I was shocked to see somebody amending their law when the law was clearly stated as whoever was born on American soil is actually a U.S. citizen,” Francis expressed.
While Francis’s daughter is a citizen due to being born in the U.S., his wife and son remain on visas without a clear pathway to citizenship, adding to his emotional and legal stress.
“The emotional and the legal stress that comes with that every three years, even though we are rooted here in terms of buying a house,” he stated.
Francis indicated that many of his friends in the Charlotte area who also hold visas are sharing similar concerns.
“People who are newly married came to the U.S. planning to settle down. For them, I heard there are a lot of conversations around this,” he shared.
Charlotte is home to a vibrant community of tech professionals and other workers on non-permanent visas, many of whom are anxious about their children’s citizenship status if the Trump administration’s order comes into force.
As of now, the Supreme Court has not yet addressed whether the Constitution allows for the amendment of birthright citizenship.
Lopez reassures immigrant parents to remain calm, noting that the recent ruling does not overturn existing laws.
“The birthright citizenship question has not been determined by the Supreme Court. That still has yet to be decided,” he concluded.
For the moment, birthright citizenship remains intact in North Carolina, but the future remains uncertain as the outcome of legal challenges looms.
This leaves thousands of families in a state of limbo as they await the court’s decisions in the coming months and years.
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