LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Maria Peña's daughter was born in the United States about 20 years ago.
Peña was not a U.S. citizen at the time, but her daughter by law became one.
While Peña said she's since become a citizen, Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship brought her back to those early days.
WATCH | Senior political reporter Steve Sebelius heard from locals after the ruling:
"So this case has definitely resonated with me," Peña said on Tuesday at a news conference held to discuss the ruling. "I am a citizen of the United States. And I don't have to have that worry anymore, but back then it could have definitely impacted her [daughter's] future, her opportunities and her being targeted at school, you know, for the lack of access to a proper education, if that was the case."
President Donald Trump on his first day back in office last year tried to redefine citizenship, saying that children of illegal immigrants or people who were temporarily visiting the country were not entitled to citizenship.
But the Supreme Court ruled differently, saying the Fourteenth Amendment's opening words — "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and of the state wherein they reside."
For Peña, the ruling put her mind at ease about what might have happened had the executive order been implemented.
"I'm very excited for the decision," she said. "At some point, I even question if they will try to backtrack it, if they will go back in history and review every single birth certificate. As you know, the attacks continue on our communities. I feel like, what if they go back and look at records, right? What would happen to my daughter? What will happen to everything that she's got, she has built for her?"
Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, said fears about what might happen are not idle concerns.
"No president should be able to eliminate key constitutional protections by way of executive order, and the moment that a court allows that to happen, we no longer have just a broken executive; we have a broken system of government, which lacks any level of accountability," he said. "The fact that there are at least three justices here who don't view this as a plain language issue and want to interpret it and out of the way to interpret it in a way to harm immigrant communities is super alarming."
Haseebullah's concern was shared by Bethany Khan, director of communications for the Culinary Union Local 226. Khan is a birthright citizen herself, born in the U.S. to parents from Guyana.
"I was relieved," she said. "I was also surprised that the decision was 6-3. How could the Supreme Court, whose job it is to uphold the Constitution, take issue with our constitutional rights?"
Khan said she's heard the insults aimed at people born to foreign parents.
"When I was born, Republicans, they like to call me an anchor baby, but I'm not. I'm American. I'm a U.S. citizen," she said. "Birthright citizenship gave my family the chance to thrive, for me to thrive. I don't know any other country. I wouldn't be able to go to another country. This is my country. I am an American and I belong here."
Khan said while she agreed with the ruling, it's not the end of the issue.
"I think we can rest easy knowing that our constitutional rights are upheld, but the fight's not over, right?" she said. "We are here to stay. We belong. We're Americans. This is our country. We help make the country stronger."
