A SECOND OPINION
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The Good , The Bad and the Ugly
The blitz of presidential executive orders has been in part stymied by the actions of at least nine federal judges . His executive order of January 20 , called “ Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship ,” sought to exclude babies born to an undocumented mother or father , or to a mother here legally ( but only on a temporary basis ) and an undocumented father . It was to take effect on February 19 . Two Federal District Court judges immediately intervened in response to filings from immigrant groups , various states and pregnant women . As of this writing , babies born on U . S . soil are still automatically granted citizenship , even if their parents are immigrants not yet able to gain citizenship . Four different states ’ attorneys general have noted that birthright citizenship is protected by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution : “... all persons born or naturalized in the United States , and subject to the jurisdiction thereof , are citizens of the United States and of the state where they reside .”
Thus , if these babies live to be old , they will qualify for Medicare . If they are sickly when young , their income-qualified parents can enroll them in state Medicaid programs as well . They can legally get a passport and visit far-off relatives . They can vote . They can call on the U . S . Embassy to help them if in trouble far from home . As citizens , they can join the Navy to see the world , or at least Norfolk . But if the President has his way , these children could become nomads without rights . Right now , undocumented immigrant children go to Kentucky public schools every day . Their improved command of English helps their whole families to access community services
by MARY BARRY , MD
and navigate the web of help available . In Kentucky , undocumented workers are still eligible for the Child Care Development Fund , the WIC nutrition program and Emergency Time-Limited Medicaid . Kentucky Refugee Ministries provides interpreters for medical office visits . Kentucky aid workers do not report immigration status to ICE . Over time , these families hope to acquire citizenship . But in the meantime , even with help from our excellent local refugee aid groups , they fear the midnight knock on the door . They fear that their perilous journeys here will have been wasted , that their roads out of poverty will be blocked , that their loved ones will never all live in the same country again .
The 14th Amendment came about after the Civil War , for the first time guaranteeing citizenship to enslaved people born in this country . The current executive order as written also applies to the babies of mothers who are legally in this country but only a temporary basis . If the babies ’ fathers are not citizens , these newborns would now be denied citizenship as well , penalizing families who may have come to this country for a new life : they could be cast out . The Justice Department has already said it will send any decision by Washington state ( the first to file ) to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals , and from there , it may well end up in the Supreme Court . At least 10 lawsuits have been filed to challenge this executive order , in various states and courts , with more on the horizon . But according to over 125 years of precedent , any attempt to reframe and defy the Constitution must ultimately require a separate amendment . As it stands , one ’ s birth certificate is proof of citizenship . Under INA 320 from the U . S . Citizenship and Immigration Service , a child born outside the U . S . who has at least one parent who is a U . S . citizen ( including an adoptive parent ) automatically becomes a U . S . citizen – for instance , the child of a USAID staffer working
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