From the US to India, attacks on the nature of citizenship

Last month, some maternity wards in the United States reportedly had a string of odd requests from Indian couples who were expecting babies. The expectant mothers wanted to have cesarean sections to ensure that their babies were born prematurely.

Their requests had been triggered by US President Donald Trump’s announcement that “birthright citizenship” would be terminated on February 20. This provision, introduced under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States. But Trump said that children born to parents who are on temporary visas or who are undocumented would not automatically become citizens.

Some Indians, it seems, were hoping to C-section their way around this.

Trump’s order has since been put on hold by two federal judges. But for expectant parents in the categories he mentioned, birthright citizenship allows them a direct shot at citizenship – through a child born in America.

Already, the US has started deporting undocumented Indians. On February 6, a US military plane landed in Amritsar with 104 undocumented Indian migrants in shackles. Many of them arrived in the US having paid significant sums of money to agents, often taking risky routes.

Ironically, despite the precarious immigration status of approximately 725,00 members of the community, many Indians in…

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