U.S. Supreme Court poised to rule on birthright citizenship after key immigration decisions
As the men's FIFA World Cup continues to capture headlines, at the same time the U.S. Supreme Court has been weighing important decisions on immigration policies that could impact thousands. One of the biggest decisions involves birthright citizenship, which is expected to come down on Tuesday.
Immigration attorneys like Tessy Ortiz are trying to keep up with the drastic immigration decisions that continue to come down from the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It's very, very stressful, not only for our clients, for us to keep up with all the changes," said Ortiz. "Everything changes so fast, and we have to give the best advice to our clients. So, we are, yes, we live in an alert mode right now."
Last week, the high court ruled that immigration officials can continue turning away migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The practice was introduced under the Obama administration and later expanded during President Trump's first term, after an increase in asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. border.
"That is a decision that basically affects people that are outside the U.S and want to come in to request asylum," said Ortiz. "It is not affecting people already in the U.S."
The court also allowed the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian refugees, a decision that could soon lead to thousands of deportations.
"It's a victory for the executive branch as well," Ortiz said.
Tuesday, the court is also expected to make a decision on the president's executive order restricting birthright citizenship, which grants U.S citizenship to any person born in the country, regardless of their parents' immigration status. It's a big decision, leaving immigration advocates, attorneys like Ortiz, nervous about the future.
"It's for future births, but it is going to have a huge impact on hospitals. For example, how are they going to determine who is a citizen and who is not a citizen," said Ortiz. "This is going to be tough. This is going to be massive."
