Woman at heart of birthright citizenship lawsuit: ‘Fighting for our children’
Woman at heart of birthright citizenship lawsuit: ‘Fighting for our children’
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A pregnant mother from Venezuela responds to Trump’s executive order that would render her baby stateless. On his first day in office, Donald Trump signed an order ending constitutionally recognized right of birthright citizenship. Thousands of expecting parents across the US suddenly had to consider that their babies would be born into a legal limbo.
Among them is Monica, a woman expecting her first child after escaping political persecution in Venezuela. If Trump’s order stands, Monica’s baby will be born stateless. “I was very shocked,” she told the Guardian. “For me and for so many mothers. This is a right that is in the constitution of this country – so you cannot imagine that they would take it away just because.”.
It was especially destabilizing for a couple who had wanted for years to become parents. “We always wanted to organize our lives to have children,” Monica said. “We had finally found some stability.”. Monica and her husband left Venezuela under threats of political persecution in 2019. She found out she was pregnant more than six years after arriving in the US, and almost couldn’t believe it. “I laughed, I cried, I thanked God.” Instead of going to the supermarket that day, she went out to buy a pair of tiny baby shoes – and left them out for her husband as a surprise. “He was not expecting that! But he was so excited.”.
Two weeks later, Trump took office and signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship. Seeking Venezuelan citizenship for their child would be impossible – both Monica and her husband were outspoken critics of their country’s authoritarian government and its autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, and contacting the government could put them in danger. Besides, there are no Venezuelan consulates in the US, which means there is no way for the couple to register their newborn.