Connecticut has joined 17 other states in suing President Donald Trump over his latest attempt to end birthright citizenship, the constitutional principle that guarantees U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the country.
The lawsuit, filed, Jan. 21, challenges an executive order that aims to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. if both of their parents are not permanent residents.
It is unclear how many Connecticut residents would be directly affected if the executive order is approved. Census data shows how many children live with two foreign-born parents and how many live with one foreign-born parent. But in the case of children who live with one foreign-born parent, the data do not show whether the other parent is native or foreign-born, so it’s difficult to estimate any more precisely the size of the group that could be affected by changes to birthright citizenship.
But in some Connecticut towns, children of foreign-born parents account for a larger share of the population.
Bridgeport, Stamford and Danbury have the largest shares of children 17 and under with at least one parent being born outside of the United States.
Bridgeport has an estimate of over 16,000 children with at least one foreign-born parent (55.3%), followed by Stamford with almost 14,000 children (55.9%) and Danbury with a little over 10,500 (63.8%).
In Norwalk and Rocky Hill, children with at least one foreign-born parent account for more than half of all children. Out of Connecticut’s 169 towns, 42 towns have recorded that at least a quarter of the children have foreign-born parents.Â
The towns with the smallest share of children with foreign-born parents are Durham, Hampton, Scotland, Union, Voluntown, Canaan, Norfolk and Bozrah, with a rate close to zero.
The percentage of children living with two foreign-born parents in Connecticut — the group most representative of people who could be affected by changes to birthright citizenship — is 11%, compared to a nationwide rate of 10%.
In Connecticut, about 26% of children are growing up in households where at least one of the parents was born outside the United States. This is 3% more than the national average, with 23% of children across the country having at least one foreign born parent.
Since the U.S. Census does not track immigration status, the data includes all children with at least one foreign-born parent, regardless of whether those parents are or later became U.S. citizens.Â
Trump’s order would not apply to children already born in the U.S. with foreign parents. The data analysis provides a hypothetical comparison to illustrate its potential impact.