President Donald Trump signed over 200 executive actions and proclamations in his first day in office, one of them denying birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants, visa holders and other people without permanent status.
Federal agencies within the U.S. government will no longer recognize children of undocumented immigrants or children of visa holders as citizens. The executive order applies to children born in the future and does not affect people with citizenship.
Under the 14th Amendment, a person born in the U.S. is a citizen at birth. Although this interpretation has been challenged, the courts have held that it applies to all people born in the U.S. with the exception of diplomats' children.
About 150,000 noncitizens live in Mecklenburg County, and more than 500,000 noncitizens live in North Carolina. Their future children could face the prospect of no longer having birthright citizenship, depending on their parents' immigration status.
Immigration attorney Jamilah Espinosa said that although the order only applies to federal entities, it can impact state and local levels.
“What we are going to see is a lot of confusion even within our community, at the local level," Espinosa said. "You have the hospitals and the register of deeds that are going to have to try to figure out how to implement this and that is not an easy system.”
Espinosa said she has already seen noncitizens getting passports and other documents issued to prove citizenship for their children.
"You can imagine the burden that it would place on the state and the local agencies to have to vet legal status, and this can cause a lot of uncertainty in those currently still eligible," Espinosa said.
The executive order takes effect in 30 days. It is currently being challenged in federal court by 19 Democratic attorneys general, including North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson.
