Trump bans birthright citizenship for children of H-1B visa holders
US’s 47th President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, a decades-old constitutional guarantee granting citizenship to children born on US soil irrespective of their parents’ immigration status.
The order, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”, was issued on the first day of Trump’s second term and has ignited a fierce legal and political debate.
Under the new directive, only children born to at least one parent who is either an American citizen or a green card holder will be eligible for US citizenship. Trump justified the move, saying the Constitution was never intended to grant citizenship universally.
“The executive order is far more sweeping than many analysts had expected. It goes so far as to prohibit US citizenship for children born to people living in the United States on temporary work, student, or tourist visas. This will affect lakhs of Indian nationals residing in the US,” said Milan Vaishnav, Director of the South Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The order is expected to have life-altering implications for individuals on temporary visas, including those on H-1B work visas, dependent H4 visas, and student visas.
Children born in the US after 20 February will be subject to these new restrictions unless the courts intervene.
Trump’s decision hinges on a reinterpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Critics argue the amendment explicitly guarantees citizenship to all born in the US.
Civil liberties organisations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have called the move unconstitutional and warned of dire consequences.
“The Fourteenth Amendment is the cornerstone of civil rights in the United States, and there is no carve-out for specific immigration statuses. Trump’s order, if implemented, will create a permanent underclass of potentially stateless people,” the ACLU stated.
The organisation further warned that the order would lead to racial profiling, denial of basic rights, and bureaucratic chaos. Legal experts predict prolonged litigation, with attorneys general from 22 states already filing lawsuits to block the measure.
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from legal scholars and activists, who argue the order contradicts the historical purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment, introduced after the Civil War to ensure equal rights for all.
The amendment was a direct response to the infamous Dred Scott v Sandford decision, which denied citizenship to the children of slaves.
While Trump’s move has garnered support from his hard-line advisers, others within his base remain divided.
The controversy comes just weeks after Trump voiced support for the H-1B visa programme, a stance criticised by far-right factions of his America First movement.
As legal challenges mount, the future of Trump’s citizenship order remains uncertain. For now, the decision has amplified the immigration debate and set the stage for a constitutional battle over the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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