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IMMIGRATION JULY 11, 2025 | The Indian Eye 35

to a state like New York or Massachu- H-4 status of the child at the time child in H-4 status would have to leave lawful, his ruling has been appealed,
setts to give birth to their child. But of its birth. As we noted in a prior the US when it turns 21 unless it finds and DACA still benefits its recipients
how cruel to force the mother to travel blog, the best chance for Indian-born a way to change to another nonimmi- in allowing them to extend their work
when she is already in labor! beneficiaries of approved I-140 peti- grant status or obtain permanent res- permits since June 2012. Even if the
The Supreme Court’s order al- tions who are trapped in the employ- idence independently such as through Supreme Court ultimately agrees
lows Trump to deny people rights ment-based second (EB-2) and third marriage with a U.S. citizen. with Judge Hanen, there is a possibil-
that are embedded in the Constitu- (EB-3) preference backlogs to obtain People have rightly observed that ity that Congress can step in and pro-
tion so long as they have not found permanent residence without waiting the nationwide injunction has also vide a path for citizenship to DACA
a lawyer or asked a court to protect for several decades could be sponsor- benefitted Republican controlled recipients. If a policy is challenged
their rights, and even when they do, ship by a U.S.-born adult child. states that are against pro-immigra- in a legal action, the government that
they may not succeed in that court. Parents of children born after the tion policies such as the successful issued it can still defend it and Con-
It aligns Trump’s America to an au- effective date of the executive order thwarting of DACA by Judge Hanen gress can also step in.
tocratic state, or worse, to a fascist may no longer have this opportunity. in a federal district court in Texas By contrast, without the benefit
regime. The executive order will cruelly cre- who held that DACA was unlawful of a nationwide injunction, a blatantly
We also fear that ICE could ate a permanent underclass of noncit- and issued a nationwide injunction. unconstitutional executive order can
start deporting plaintiffs and even izens if they are unable to challenge it On the other hand, even though continue to stand and adversely im-
newborns if they are here unlawfully individually or in a class action. The Judge Hanen ruled DACA to be un- pact people, even newborn children.
before they get a favorable court or- ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
der. The executive order applies not Cyrus D. Mehta, a graduate of Cambridge University and Columbia Law School, is the Managing Partner of Cyrus D. Mehta
only to children of two undocument- & Partners PLLC in New York City. Mr. Mehta is a member of AILA’s Administrative Litigation Task Force; AILA’s EB-5 Com-
ed parents, but also to the U.S. born mittee; former chair of AILA’s Ethics Committee; special counsel on immigration matters to the Departmental Disciplinary
children of parents who hold a valid Committee, Appellate Division, First Department, New York; member of the ABA Commission on Immigration; board member
nonimmigrant status, such as H-1B of Volunteers for Legal Services and board member of New York Immigration Coalition. Mr. Mehta is the former chair of the
and H-4. How will a child as soon as it Board of Trustees of the American Immigration Council and former chair of the Committee on Immigration and Nationality
is born acquire H-4 status? One needs Law of the New York City Bar Association. He is a frequent speaker and writer on various immigration-related issues, including
to be admitted into the US in H-4 on ethics, and is also an adjunct professor of law at Brooklyn Law School, where he teaches a course entitled Immigration and
status or change from another non- Work. Mr. Mehta received the AILA 2018 Edith Lowenstein Memorial Award for advancing the practice of immigration law
immigrant status into H-4 status. Per- and the AILA 2011 Michael Maggio Memorial Award for his outstanding efforts in providing pro bono representation in the
haps, the Trump administration may immigration field. He has also received two AILA Presidential Commendations in 2010 and 2016. Mr. Mehta is ranked among
need to issue a regulation recognizing the most highly regarded lawyers in North America by Who’s Who Legal – Corporate Immigration Law 2019 and is also ranked
in Chambers USA and Chambers Global 2019 in immigration law, among other rankings.

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