Shortly after his swearing-in as the United States President, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order cancelling the provision of ‘citizenship by birth’. Soon after, several social media users claimed that the executive order specifically targeted Indians, and “children born to Indian couples will not be eligible for automatic USA’s citizenship”. However, an investigation by the PTI Fact Check Desk found the posts to be misleading. The executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US is intended for immigrants, irrespective of the country, and not Indians in particular.
Trump signed an executive order curbing multiple immigration laws, including birthright citizenship that provides automatic American citizenship to anyone born in the country, which stands contrary to the 14th amendment of the US Constitution. The executive order signed by Trump states that a child born in the country will only be granted US citizenship if at least one parent is a US citizen, a green card holder or a member of the US military.
Within hours of him signing the executive order to end birthright citizenship for children whose parents lack legal status, he was sued by immigrant and civil rights advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
Claim
An X (formerly Twitter) user on January 21 shared a post, claiming that children born to Indian couples in the United States will not be eligible for automatic American citizenship.
The caption of the post, which has garnered 629k views so far, read: “Children born to Indian couples will not be eligible for automatic USA’s citizenship. Donald Trump. NRIs should come back to India in protest & contribute in Amritkaal.”
Here is the link and archive link to the post and below is a screenshot of the same.
Investigation
The Desk conducted a keyword search on Google and found that several other users had shared the same claim. Two such posts can be viewed here and here, and their archived versions can be found here and here, respectively.
In the next part of investigation, the Desk reviewed the executive order signed by President Donald Trump regarding the end of birthright citizenship.
“Among the categories of individuals born in the United States and not subject to the jurisdiction thereof, the privilege of United States citizenship does not automatically extend to persons born in the United States: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the United States under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program or visiting on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth,” the order read.
Here is the link to the document and below is a screenshot of the same.
The document also mentioned: “Subsection (a) of this section shall apply only to persons who are born within the United States after 30 days from the date of this order.”
Below is a screenshot highlighting the same.
On further conducting another set of customised keyword search of Google for relevant media reports, the Desk came across a report by CBS News, dated January 20, whose headline read: “Trump signs flurry of executive actions and memos on Day 1”
A section of the report mentioned: “Trump also moved to dismantle the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment, signing an order to federal agencies to deny birthright citizenship to children of parents who are unauthorized immigrants or temporary visa holders. The U.S. government has long interpreted the 14th Amendment of the Constitution as granting a right of citizenship for those born on American soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.”
Here is the link to the report and below is a screenshot of the same.
Another report by The Indian Express dated January 22, whose headline read: “Trump signs executive order to end US birthright citizenship. Can he do it?” This report discussed the number of immigrants and children who could be impacted by the order.
“According to 2024 data by the Pew Research Center, the US foreign-born population reached a record 47.8 million in 2023, an increase of 1.6 million from the previous year. This is the largest annual increase in more than 20 years, since 2000. In 2022, Mexico was the top country of birth for immigrants who arrived in the last year, with about 150,000 people. India (about 145,000) and China (about 90,000) were the next largest sources of immigrants. Venezuela, Cuba, Brazil and Canada each had about 50,000 to 60,000 new immigrant arrivals,” read a section of the report.
Here is the link to the report and below is a screenshot of the same.
Subsequently, the Desk concluded that the executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US was meant for illegal immigrants, and not Indians in particular.
CLAIM: Children born to Indian couples in the United States will not be eligible for automatic American citizenship.
FACT: The executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US could impact many immigrants, not just Indians.
CONCLUSION: Several social media users claimed that the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump to end the provision of ‘citizenship by birth’ specifically targeted Indians. In its investigation, the Desk found that the executive order to end birthright citizenship in the US could impact many immigrants, and not just Indians.
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(This story was originally published by PTI, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)
