What will happen to 1.6 million Indians if Trump scraps birthright citizenship law?

                   What will happen to 1.6 million Indians if Trump scraps birthright citizenship law?

If former U.S. President Donald Trump or any future leader successfully ends or significantly modifies the birthright citizenship policy in the United States, it could potentially impact a significant number of individuals, including the 1.6 million Indian-origin people reportedly born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents. Here’s an analysis of what might happen:

1. Loss of Citizenship for Future Generations

• Currently, birthright citizenship grants citizenship to all individuals born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents' immigration status, under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
• If this law is changed, children born in the U.S. to non-citizen Indian parents (or any non-citizen parents) would no longer automatically receive citizenship.
• This could make future generations of Indian immigrants dependent on their parents’ immigration status to determine their nationality.

2. Legal Challenges and Uncertainty

• Birthright citizenship is rooted in the 14th Amendment, and revoking it would likely require a constitutional amendment or a Supreme Court decision. Any such effort would likely face extensive legal challenges, creating prolonged uncertainty.
• During this uncertain period, children of Indian-origin immigrants might face delays or complications in acquiring legal status.

3. Impact on the Indian-American Community

• Indian-Americans are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the U.S., with many contributing significantly to technology, medicine, academia, and entrepreneurship.
• Stripping automatic citizenship could potentially create statelessness or force parents to secure citizenship or visas from India for their U.S.-born children, depending on India’s laws about citizenship eligibility.

4. Practical and Political Barriers

• Implementing such a policy could face logistical challenges:
  • Verifying parents' immigration status at birth.
  • Retroactively addressing citizenship for those already born.
• This could disproportionately affect immigrant families, potentially sparking public backlash and further polarization.

5. Indian Government's Stance

• India might need to step in for affected individuals, offering pathways to citizenship or residency under laws like the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) scheme.
• However, this could strain relations if large numbers of individuals find themselves without clear legal status.

Conclusion:

While the 1.6 million Indians born to non-citizen parents in the U.S. would likely not lose their current citizenship retroactively due to legal protections, future generations could face significant hurdles. Such a change would reshape immigration and integration dynamics, disproportionately affecting immigrant communities, including Indian-Americans. However, the legal and logistical barriers to implementing such a policy remain immense.