As President-elect Donald Trump vows to end birthright citizenship by executive action, a new case in Houston, Texas has been thrust to the spotlight.
Federico Arellano Jr, a US citizen, saw his wife, Christina Salazar, and their four children be taken into custody on December 11. Two of the four children are twins who were born in Houston just three months prior, which makes them U.S. citizen by birthright citizenship under U.S. law. Nevertheless, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported the group to Reynosa, Mexico.
The deportation stemmed from a missed immigration court hearing in October, which the family claims they tried to reschedule due to Salazar's recovery from an emergency cesarean section, as The Guardian reports. According to their attorneys, the family had informed the court of the health issue but were later directed to meet with immigration authorities in Houston, where they were arrested.
The family also alleges they were not allowed to retrieve coats or basic supplies before being detained. Salazar described the ordeal as abrupt and distressing, recounting that her phone was confiscated, leaving her unable to call for help. Upon arrival in Reynosa, the family faced severe challenges, with limited resources and the children falling ill, as Houston's KHOU reports.
The family's attorneys, Isaias Torres and Silvia Mintz, argue the case could have been handled through legal remedies rather than immediate deportation. They are now seeking assistance from lawmakers, including U.S. Representative Al Green, who has called for legal advice to be more accessible to individuals navigating immigration cases.
"The deportation of noncitizens who do not have status and who missed a court date is legal," explained owner and founding attorney of Cambridge Immigration Law Ellen Sullivan to The Latin Times. "However, the execution of this deportation is shocking in its speed and inhumanity." Sullivan added that she believes the case is "a reflection of the incoming xenophobic, racism, classism and lawlessness that we will see with the Trump administration."
The debate around birthright citizenship is poised to dominate the conversation in the upcoming months. If the executive action promised by Trump were to be implemented, such a measure would likely face legal challenges and could reach the Supreme Court, which currently has a 6-3 conservative majority.
In such an instance, analysts believe the Court could rule that classes of foreigners on U.S. soil are not necessarily subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore their children, if born in this country, are not entitled to citizenship.
"I don't know how this issue will play out from a legal perspective but it would be a long process of actually making this change; so long that it would likely not happen within one administration," explained Sullivan. "However, in my opinion, any support for this issue reflects US leaders' and citizens' increasing openness to and pride in expressing and acting upon xenophobia and nativism."
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