Mindy Kaling speaks out against the president’s stance on birthright citizenship
"So… now I would be a citizen of India? My contributions to this country would be as a foreigner with no rights?"
Following Donald Trump’s hotly contested claim that he’s planning — and able — to end the constitutional assurance of birthright citizenship with an executive order, a number of public figures have spoken out.
Mindy Kaling — best known for her work in “The Office,’’ “The Mindy Project,’’ and “Ocean’s 8,’’ — voiced her concern over her own citizenship in a tweet.
“Wait,’’ Kaling wrote on Twitter. “I was born in the United States to two Indian professionals who later became proud citizens of this country. So . . . now I would be a citizen of India? My contributions to this country would be as a foreigner with no rights?’’
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Over a thousand people have since replied on Twitter, many with messages of support.
Trump’s tweets about birthright citizenship have sparked debate among Republicans and Democrats alike. Reports said he was first considering an executive order to end birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Many legal scholars took issue with that idea, pointing out that such a change would require amending the Constitution.
On Wednesday, the president tweeted that it “will be ended one way or the other.’’
Kaling’s Twitter bio reads “Indian, Slytherin, and I grew up in Boston.’’ Her parents emigrated to the US on green cards, per an earlier tweet from the actress, and she was born and raised in Cambridge.
Kaling’s mother, Dr. Swati Chokalingam, was a beloved OB/GYN at St. Elizabeth’s in Boston, according to a Globe report following her death.
