Liza, a 24-week pregnant graduate student in Texas, is part of a group of pregnant mothers and advocacy organizations fighting against the Trump administration’s executive order to end birthright citizenship. The order, which took effect quickly, has filled Liza with dread, as she had learned from a friend that it would be implemented around the time she became pregnant.
Liza is one of the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that argues the ban violates the Constitution and longstanding legal precedent. The lawsuit is one of several legal challenges to the order, which has already created chaos in immigrant communities, according to Conchita Cruz, executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.
Losing birthright citizenship would not only deny US-born children the right to be citizens but also create long-term uncertainty and stress for them and their families. Liza says she now worries about her baby’s future, including health care, education, and the possibility of deportation. She fears that her child would be stateless, as the Russian Embassy would not provide a birth certificate without proof of her husband’s asylum application.
Other pregnant women, including Mónica, a 12-week pregnant doctor from Venezuela, and Barbara, a four-month pregnant school custodian from Cuba, are also affected by the order. Mónica, who is seeking asylum, has been trying to do everything the “right way,” including working, paying taxes, and buying a home. However, she is now stressed and anxious about the reality that her child may not be able to become a US citizen.
Barbara, who is seeking asylum and working as a school custodian, is also worried about the impact of the order on her unborn child. She says that everything in her hands, she will do to support the cause, as it is the children who are being harmed by this order, and it is the pregnant women and families of many immigrants who will be affected.
As the lawsuit makes its way through the court system, the US government has argued that the 14th Amendment only grants birthright citizenship to those “born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction.” However, Liza and other plaintiffs argue that this interpretation “violates long-settled law” and unjustly denies citizenship to US-born children who are “plainly ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States.”
