7 days ago
For Indians, the American dream is getting more and more out of reach
Written by Savita Patel
The Donald Trump administration's controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship nationwide was blocked by a fourth court last week. Nevertheless, hundreds and thousands of foreign citizens residing and giving birth in the US remain in a state of uncertainty as a result. Citizenship has been granted to anyone born in the US for over a century, irrespective of their parents' immigration status, as per a legal principle in the US Constitution. The presidential order aims to deny that to children born after February 20 to temporary foreign workers.
Within days of the first announcement, several federal judges blocked the order nationwide, which meant the rule could not be enforced until the lawsuits were decided. But the administration appealed to the Supreme Court. As the primary legal case that addresses the merits of Trump's birthright citizenship order continues, on June 27, the Supreme Court curtailed the power of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions while upholding the ability of plaintiffs to seek a stay through class-action lawsuits. Finally, on July 10, certifying a nationwide class 'comprised only of those deprived of citizenship', a judge in a New Hampshire court indefinitely blocked Trump's order, before District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland did the same on August 7.
Caught amidst a flurry of lawsuits and counter-challenges, millions of foreign citizens who live, work and study in the US are uncertain about the nationality of their newborns. Will the US passports being issued to these infants hold if the administration wins the legal battles? Birth certificates issued in the US have information about parents, place and time of birth, but do not mention the nationality of a newborn. Unlike foreign-born immigrants applying for naturalisation or citizenship, there is no formal process or US nationality application for a child born in the country. A US birth location established in the certificate is adequate to apply for an American passport. Even as the lower courts continue to block the thwarting of a constitutional birthright, foreign citizens are wondering if the passports issued to their children might be withdrawn if the US Supreme Court decides to uphold the executive order, as the case makes its way through this year.
Historically, laws in the US are not implemented retroactively. Of all foreign US residents, Indians in the US, the second-largest immigrant block, are disproportionately impacted by the challenges to birthright citizenship. Trump's order mentions that children born in the US to lawful permanent residents can receive US citizenship. Indians face the longest queue compared to any other foreign nationality to be granted permanent residency or a green card, an important step in the path to citizenship. The population of Indians in the US has more than doubled in the last two decades, significantly contributed by the large share of H1-B work visas going to them — 72 per cent annually. But the proportion of green cards accorded to them remains at the 7 per cent annual country cap, which has created a decades-long bottleneck. Comparatively, most other nationals receive permanent residence within a year.
There are more than 1.1 million Indians in the green card queue. As per the Cato Institute, over 4,00,000 of them face a 134-year wait. If the wait for permanent residency for Indians were at par with immigrants from other countries, most of the Indians in the green card queue would have been granted their citizenship by now and avoided the current uncertainty regarding their US-born children's birthright citizenship.
To avail the time window the legal blocking of the order offers and mitigate being stripped of the opportunity due to any potential legal developments, couples are promptly applying for US passports for their newborns but are holding off overseas travel, fearing increased vigilance at the borders.
A community so far perceived positively in the US, which refers to itself as a 'model minority' with its highest median income and education levels of all demographic groups, Indians in the US are feeling a tightening immigration landscape. Along with a long wait for green cards, citizenship and the AI-related uncertainty of steady jobs in the tech sector, they are now unsure of the one guarantee: Birthright citizenship for their US-born children. But despite the evolving policies and rising scrutiny, the US continues to be an attractive economic destination for Indians and other foreigners. Career opportunities, education standards, and the lifestyle it offers to families continue to drive hundreds and thousands of Indians to stay on in the US, even though the pursuit of their American dream is becoming more complex.
Patel is an author and producer working on diaspora affairs, based in the United States
