New York, June 30: The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a significant ruling that offers relief to approximately 300,000 Indians holding H-1B work visas. The court upheld the citizenship rights of all children born in the United States, a decision seen as a major setback for former President Donald Trump.
Trump had aimed to prevent children born to individuals legally residing in the U.S. on temporary visas from obtaining American citizenship. The ruling now ensures that children born to H-1B visa holders, as well as those on student and visitor visas, will automatically receive U.S. citizenship at birth, granting them lifelong residency rights.
Chintan Patel, Executive Director of the Indian American Impact organization, stated, “Today’s decision strongly affirms who belongs in America. Trump’s order would have disproportionately affected Indian and South Asian immigrant families.” He highlighted the lengthy wait times for green cards faced by many H-1B visa holders, noting that while their children may be born in the U.S., their parents often face years before they can secure permanent residency.
Patel emphasized, “Today, the Supreme Court recognized these families and said, ‘Your children are American. They belong here.'” Chief Justice John Roberts, in the majority opinion, wrote, “We fulfill the promise made in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which grants citizenship to all born in the U.S.” He added, “Then and now, citizenship means the right to fully participate in this country’s democratic system with all its rights.”
U.S. Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal also welcomed the ruling. She expressed on social media, “As an immigrant myself, I understand the significance of honoring the promises made in this country and the heavy price paid when they are broken.” She asserted, “Our Constitution has no exceptions. It does not specify who has the right to be part of this country. Birthright citizenship is the law of the land, and today the Supreme Court reaffirmed that.”
Following his election, Trump issued an executive order aimed at denying citizenship to children born in the U.S. to individuals on temporary visas or undocumented immigrants. This move sought to alter a long-standing policy that has been in place for over a century.
Trump expressed his discontent with the Supreme Court’s decision, labeling it “bad news for the country.” He suggested that Congress should act to change the law, stating on his social media platform, “We can easily change this with legislation in Congress. There is no need for a lengthy and difficult amendment to the Constitution.”
However, it remains unclear whether any legislation passed by Congress would withstand legal scrutiny following the Supreme Court’s clear ruling. Trump argued that his initiative was primarily aimed at curbing so-called “birth tourism,” where individuals enter the U.S. on tourist visas, give birth, and then return to their home countries, leveraging their child’s citizenship for future benefits.
Trump’s proposed regulations were not limited to birth tourism cases; he sought to apply them to individuals legally residing in the U.S. on H-1B and other valid temporary visas as well.
This case was rooted in the interpretation of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which was passed in 1866 and enacted in 1868. Its primary purpose was to grant full American citizenship to freed slaves and their children after the Civil War.
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