People born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birthright. The new administration’s efforts to change birthright citizenship won’t change that. But it could affect Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans, either now or in the future, in a variety of ways. It can be difficult to predict what the consequences of this change might be, but we can speculate on some possibilities.
The new rule
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says that anyone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen. It’s that simple. An executive order by President Trump, and now a bill called the Birthright Citizenship Act introduced in Congress, says that this is the case only if at least one of the child’s parents is a U.S. citizen, a legal permanent resident with a Green Card, or a member of the U.S. military.
The law that gives birthright citizenship to people born in Puerto Rico is not the 14th Amendment. It is a separate law — in fact, two laws. If these laws are not also changed, it is conceivable that people born in Puerto Rico would continue to have statutory citizenship regardless of the status of their parents. If this were the case, then Puerto Rico might become the most desirable place for undocumented immigrants.
On the other hand, the rule does not permit birthright citizenship for COFA migrants. If someday Puerto Rico became independent, birthright citizenship could be off the table for the children of citizens of the Republic of Puerto Rico, even if there was a Compact of Free Association with the United States.
These are just the uncertainties that are obvious on the face of the rule.
Other possible consequences
If the law changed for Puerto Rico as well as for the states, hospitals in Puerto Rico would be required to track the immigration status of babies born in Puerto Rico. States are already saying that they can’t afford to do that. Puerto Rico, with a fragile and inadequately funded healthcare system, would be hard pressed to manage it.
Spanish-speaking people in the states may find that hospitals will choose to demand proof of citizenship on the maternity ward, possibly before helping with birth certificates as they currently do for all babies born in the United States. There have already been cases in which people with documents from Puerto Rico have found that their documents were not accepted as proof of citizenship. New training requirements will be essential, but we can imagine that the already complex process of getting healthcare will become more complex.
The worst-case scenario
If weakening birthright citizenship goes beyond the current concerns about “birthright tourism,” the U.S. citizenship of Puerto Ricans could be affected. Since the current U.S. citizenship of people born in Puerto Rico is statutory and not guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, it could be rescinded by Congress at any time. If questions about the birthright citizenship enshrined in the U.S. Constitution take hold, attitudes toward birthright citizenship for Puerto Rico could also change. It could be a slippery slope.
The most likely outcome
Legal challenges to the Birthright Citizenship Act and the executive order that preceded it have already arisen, and it currently seems unlikely that either will hold up against those challenges. The Supreme Court has already made a relevant decision in the case of Wong Kim Ark. Wong Kim Ark was born in the United States to parents from China who were not U.S. citizens. The Supreme Court ruled in 1898 that he was a U.S. citizen.
To us, it’s just a reminder that U.S. citizenship is only guaranteed with U.S. statehood.
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