Dear Editor,
The recent Supreme Court decision reaffirming birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment was the most anticipated and followed Supreme Court case in recent memory. For nearly a century, birthright citizenship has ensured that children born in America, regardless of their parents’ immigration status are recognized as full citizens. The republican majority court on Tuesday affirmed the right of citizenship of anyone born on US soil; this includes if they were born in any of the American territories. If the court had ruled against birth right citizenship, it would have created a generation of children treated as outsiders in the only country they have ever known developing into an underclass and resulting in increased poverty. Also, many of those born from last year to undocumented (illegal) immigrants would (will) be considered illegal and subjected to deportation. It would also have meant henceforth that any baby born to (visiting) female in USA, unless the father is a citizen or legal resident, will not be considered a citizen.
Every Guyanese, legal and undocumented, indeed every immigrant in USA, and Guyanese at home and in the diaspora and people around the globe was anxiously awaiting the court’s ruling. Thousands of foreigners, including many Guyanese, Trinis, and other West Indians on visitors’ visas were known to come to USA and give birth, giving automatic citizenship to their new born. Guyanese and others around the world were worried that their babies will be denied the coveted American citizenship. Last year, President Trump signed an executive order denying birth right citizenship to babies born to visitors and illegal aliens. His executive order was challenged in court and eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, the highest decision-making body in the country. The court rebuked the President. By a 6-3 majority, the court retained the interpretation of the American 14th Amendment that anyone born in USA is considered a citizen and enjoys all rights and privileges that come with citizenship.
The attempt to end birthright citizenship was targeting migrant families. They were about creating a permanent underclass of children and about using fear and exclusion as political tools. And they would have disproportionately harmed colored migrants like Guyanese.
The ruling brings profound relief to Guyanese and other migrants in USA and to those foreigners pondering of coming to USA to give birth. Attempts to undermine this basic American constitutional guarantee threatened to destabilize Guyanese families. Without this protection, many babies born to illegals would have faced uncertainty regarding their legal status, access to public education and eligibility for healthcare and educational grants. The ruling now preserves the new born babies’ access to various benefits especially if poor, such as Medicaid, SNAP, grants, etc.
The ruling empowers Guyanese and other migrants as it protects their American born who can grow up to become activists and politicians to advocate for their community. In the past, migrants like Guyanese have been targeted by exclusionary immigration proposals; the ruling reinforces a right they always thought they have as an American citizen. Upholding birthright citizenship reaffirms a core American principle: that equality under the law is not contingent on the status of one’s parents. Birthright citizenship is a cornerstone of American democracy. It is a promise that this nation made after the Civil War to ensure citizenship of all and equality under the law.