Illinois immigrants closely following Supreme Court arguments on birthright citizenship

Daniela, an asylum seeker from Nicaragua who lives in a small town near DeKalb, Illinois, will be watching closely on Thursday, when the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments about the right to citizenship for children born in the United States to immigrant parents.

Almost all legal scholars say there is no basis for denying citizenship to people born in the United States, but Thursday’s oral arguments could ultimately impact the citizenship status of millions of children across the country, including Daniela’s newborn.

“It’s extremely concerning.” said Daniela in Spanish. “In my case, I can’t give Nicaraguan citizenship to my son.” As a former activist against the Nicaraguan government, she left fleeing persecution and political unrest. Without his U.S. citizenship, she said, “my son would not have the protection of any other country.”

WBEZ is not using Daniela’s real name because she fears retaliation.

Daniela gave birth to her son soon after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in January aimed at denying U.S. citizenship to children of parents who lack citizenship or legal permanent residency. She is among hundreds of members with Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, one of two immigrant rights groups that filed a lawsuit in a Maryland federal court the day after the order was issued.

That lawsuit and two other suits filed by attorneys general in 22 states, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, led to nationwide injunctions. But in April, the Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments after the Trump administration challenged the injunctions. The administration is asking the Supreme Court to only allow the injunctions to include the parties suing, instead of suspending the order for the whole country.

“Rather than defend the Day One executive order, the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to narrow the many nationwide injunctions blocking the order and allow it to proceed in parts of the country where courts have not ruled,” said Fred Tsao, senior policy counsel at Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “Doing so would fracture our nation's legal identity and sow absolute chaos, where in one state, a child is a citizen and in another, they are not. In this nation, the guarantee of U.S. citizenship should equally apply to all.”

The executive order, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," orders any federal agency to stop issuing documents validating the U.S citizenship of kids born on U.S. soil to unauthorized immigrants or certain other noncitizens. Advocates, legal experts and the parties suing argue the Trump administration is in violation of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all babies born in the United States.

Experts say the scheduled oral arguments will be on whether federal judges can issue nationwide injunctions, a legal tool used to challenge or halt the enforcement of government policy nationwide, not on the substance of the executive order itself.

As of right now, Trump’s executive order on birthrights can’t be enforced anywhere in the U.S because of these injunctions. But if the justices were to side with the Trump administration, that could change, according to the Center for American Progress.

Ending birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children with parents who are either temporary visa holders or unauthorized immigrants would increase the size of the unauthorized population in the United States by 2.7 million by 2045, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The institute estimates that in 2023, approximately 13.7 million unauthorized immigrants lived in the United States.

Daniela, who left Nicaragua nearly three years ago, said she came to the United States hoping for a peaceful life with more opportunities. She wants to start her own food or hair salon business. Now that she has a newborn, she is studying English, because she wants to be able to communicate with him in two languages.

Daniela is returning to work after a brief maternity leave. She's trying to get back to her normal routine with a great deal of uncertainty and fear. “I’m trying to stay positive for my son,” she said.

Conchita Cruz, co-executive director of the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, one of the groups suing to block the order, said it’s important to protect the rights of Daniela’s newborn.

“Birthright citizenship is something that is enshrined in the United States Constitution,” Cruz said. “If the president can change the Constitution through executive order, then what else could change about life in the United States — not just for immigrants but for everyone who lives in the United States?”

Adriana Cardona-Maguigad covers immigration for WBEZ. Follow her on X @AdrianaCardMag.