There is a deli I like to visit in Newark, New Jersey. In fact, I visit so often that I have gotten to know the woman who takes my order most days, Ana. Often, we talk about any number of things as she shows me the newest photos of her son. On a recent visit, things were a little slow. Some of the employees and Ana were gathered around talking. Ana, who loves being a mom to her one-year-old son, stood aghast listening to one of her co-workers describe what he heard on the news that morning: the new President just declared that children born to immigrants would not be citizens. Like most of her co-workers, Ana is originally from another country.

I knew what they were talking about. Almost immediately after taking office on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship Executive Order. Through this Order, the Trump Administration attempted to redefine U.S. Citizenship using its executive power to regulate immigration. Effectively, this Order states that to confer birthright citizenship on the basis of being born within the territory of the United States, a child must have at least one parent who is either a permanent resident or U.S. Citizen. Framing children who do not have a permanent resident or U.S. Citizen parent as foreign nationals, the Order relies upon the argument that these children are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

In the deli, I listened as everyone expressed not only shock but fear. You see, Ana has been talking about having another baby, hopeful that the next would be a little girl. Though at this moment, she declared that she would not have another baby. She could not risk it until her immigration status was secured. While I did not know nor did I ask Ana what her immigration status was, I calmly told her that there were some limits on this declaration; if she and/or the father of her children were permanent residents, their baby would still be entitled to American citizenship. But to Ana, things had become too uncertain. As she astutely noted, these policies seem to change when a new President is elected. With the knowledge that litigation was already afoot and belief that this re-interpretation of a rather unambiguous constitutional principle is preposterous, I felt more certain that Ana could proceed with her plans than she could be. Without legal expertise, what Ana could tell was that her life and the life of her family was, to some degree, under the imminent control of the federal government. This Order changed how Ana perceived not only her own security but the security of any future children she wanted to have. And just like that, Ana’s dreams for her family were crushed.

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