Birthright Citizenship: The New Flashpoint
Perhaps no issue is as contentious right now as birthright citizenship. The 14th Amendment grants automatic citizenship to anyone born on American soil. This Amendment was designed primarily to ensure citizenship rights for formerly enslaved people after the Civil War.
Yet the Trump Administration’s new border czar, Tom Homan is making it clear that minor-children born in the U.S. to undocumented or out-of-status parents won’t shield the entire family from deportation, effectively ending the practice of allowing U.S.-born children to remain while parents are deported.
Critics argue that this undermines the Constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship. The administration, however, insists it’s simply following the law as written, asserting they’re not in the business of separating families—they’re in the business of enforcing immigration statutes.
The Corporate Wake-Up Call: What Employers and Workers Need to Know
For business owners—large or small—this is a wake-up call that extends well beyond sanctuary cities. Any entity employing undocumented employees or foreign nationals under temporary work visas must now reassess their compliance measures.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a Final Rule for the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs, set to take effect on January 17, 2025.
The Rule is designed to modernize the regulations governing the H-2A and H-2B temporary worker programs—essential lifelines for U.S. employers seeking foreign labor for temporary agricultural (H-2A) and non-agricultural (H-2B) positions when domestic labor is unavailable.
The Rule standardizes the period resetting a worker’s three-year maximum stay in the U.S. to a uniform absence of at least 60 days, eliminating the complex “interrupted” stay provisions. Under the old rule, if an H-2 visa holder left the U.S. for a specified period, their absence would “interrupt” their stay.
H-2 workers are granted a 10-day grace period before employment begins and up to 30 days after employment ends.Additionally, a new grace period of up to 60 days following employment cessation allows workers to seek new employment or prepare for departure without violating their status. During this period, the worker remains in status but does not have work authorization.
Here at the USA Herald, we’ll keep you updated on any new developments on this issue.
