Concerns raised over ending birthright citizenship INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — President Trump’s executive order ending citizenship to children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants is creating concern in Indiana. The push to end automatic citizenship has ignited fears and uncertainty among many families, leaving them to navigate an unstable legal landscape. “People are running to get legal consultation, talk to experts and attorneys in their neighborhoods, or just neighbors that may be going through the same things or feelings,” immigration advocate Maria Yuquilima said. Under the 14th Amendment, citizenship is granted to anyone born in the U.S. However, Trump’s administration said a new executive order could end automatic citizenship for babies born to undocumented parents starting Feb. 19. “Let’s say you had two parents here on employment-based visas, and they have a child born in the U.S. That child would no longer be a U.S. citizen because their parents were here on temporary visas, and that doesn’t make sense with how our Constitution is written,” Emma Mahern, associate attorney with Munoz Legal, said. Mahern emphasized the potential consequences of this order, “The ACLU is challenging this because the President can’t change the U.S. Constitution with a stroke of a pen. I am confident this executive order won’t change the law. But, it will cause lawsuits to happen that will help the Supreme Court to clarify what the 14th Amendment says.” The anxiety over these changes is intense, especially for undocumented individuals and families trying to build their lives here. Many worry about the potential impact as they go about their daily routines. Mahern says ICE officers are not just randomly looking for people who speak another language. “To the extent possible, I don’t think any ICE agents are aiming to go into schools to do enforcement, or aiming to go arrest someone in a hospital bed, or into a church during a Sunday service,” Mahern said. For now, Mahern believes, officers will likely focus on those with a criminal history. Jan. 23, the Indiana Latino Democratic Caucus opposed House Bill 1393, the “Immigration Notice” bill, during a hearing at the Indiana Statehouse. This bill would require law enforcement to provide names, addresses, and other identifying information to ICE after arresting or issuing a summons to individuals suspected of being unlawfully present in the U.S. The hearing will take place in Room 156- B at 8:30 A.M.