According to a Houston immigration lawyer, President Donald Trump is unlikely to be successful in taking away birthright citizenship in the United States.
Anyone born in the United States is automatically granted citizenship under the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. Trump issued an executive order Monday following his inauguration for a second term in the White House, aiming to modify this for citizens whose parents lack legal status.
Trump is unlikely to succeed in that endeavor, according to Jose Perez, an immigration lawyer with Foster Global LLC, a nationwide law company with a Houston office.
Perez stated that as soon as President Trump issues the executive order, it would be challenged. Since it’s a constitutional protection, it won’t have any impact at all. Really, it’s a civil rights problem.
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Perez went on to say that the Constitution has undergone 27 amendments in the roughly 250 years since the country’s founding.
It is yet unclear exactly how Trump will proceed with this idea. The Greater Houston Partnership estimates that 1 in 4 Houstonians were foreign-born as of 2021. More than half of Houston’s estimated 1.7 million foreign-born citizens are from Latin American nations.
According to Perez, if you are undocumented, you should first seek legal representation, request a hearing before an immigration judge, and refrain from signing any documents if you are detained by ICE. You have a right to that. It’s due procedure.
According to the Associated Press, Trump has already signed several executive orders, some of which shift the focus of deportations from serious criminals to anyone in the US without legal status.
