US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday after taking office scrapping the birthright citizenship rule. It is believed that this will also affect the Indian community in America. Birthright citizenship means automatic citizenship for a child born in America. As per US media reports, the order signed by Trump on US Birthright Citizenship states that the federal government will not issue 'documents recognizing US citizenship' to any child born on American soil, whose parents have lived in the country illegally or who have lived legally but temporarily i.e. on a temporary visa.
The order states that it will only apply to those individuals who are born in the US after 30 days from the date of this order. Trump's order means that apart from undocumented immigrants, it will also affect those living legally on temporary work visas. As a result, many questions are arising over its impact on Indian Americans. For instance, many are wondering whether Usha Vance, US Vive President JD Vance's wife i.e. second lady of the US will also lose her citizenship or if her children will not be citizens of the United States.
Will Usha Vance lose her citizenship due to Trump's order?
The question around Usha Vance's citizenship is rising because neither of her parents are originally US citizens. Usha Vance will continue to remain a US citizen along with her children as Donald Trump's order's text clearly states that it applies only to people born more than 30 days after it was issued.
Before Trump scrapped birthright citizenship, the US used to grant citizenship to anyone born in the country. Trump began his second presidential term with an executive order that declares the amendment has been misinterpreted and argues U.S. citizenship extends only to those both born in and "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. In other words, according to Trump, children born in the U.S. would not be American citizens if their parents are not in the country legally.
How will it impact Indian Americans?
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, according to US Census Bureau data, about 4.8 million Indian-Americans were living in the US by 2022. A significant proportion of these people are born in America. Trump's order states that it will only apply to those who are born in the US after 30 days from the date of this order. This means that the coming generation of Indians in America will be covered by it.
At the same time, after Trump's policy comes into force, children born in the US of Indian citizens waiting for temporary work visas such as H-1B or Green Card will no longer be able to automatically get US citizenship. At the same time, family-based immigration allows US citizens to file a petition to bring their parents to the country when they are 21 years of age. Children born to Indian immigrants without citizenship by birth will not be able to sponsor their parents.