Born In USA, Back In Bharat

medium118688999Trump’s first action on assuming office — an executive order ending birthright citizenship — is proving to be a long legal battle before implementation. Eighteen states have sued the federal govt over the executive order. There is also strong public disapproval — a Pew survey in end Feb found 56% of US adults disapprove of Trump’s order that seeks to change who gets access to American citizenship.The order was supposed to kick in on Feb 19, but courts have repeatedly blocked its roll-out — the latest being a Virginia appeals court. While the matter is in court, it is worth noting that one beneficiary of birthright citizenship is US itself. Diaspora communities and second-generation immigrants make up a chunk of its workforce, especially in the tech industry.The order excludes children born under two sets of circumstances from US citizenship. First, where the mother is unlawfully present, and the father is either not a citizen of US or is not a lawful permanent resident. Second, where the mother has a temporary status — such as a student or work visa — and the father is either not a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident.US currently offers many forms of temporary permits for employment and educational opportunities to foreign nationals. Children of foreign nationals, irrespective of their nationality and their parents’ immigration status, are entitled to US citizenship.Last year, Indian nationals made up approximately 75% of the recipients of H-1B visas, many of whom were employed in the tech industry that relies heavily on high-skilled immigrants, mostly on temporary work visas such as H-1B. Revoking birthright citizenship is a deterrent for this lot, given the uncertainty of their children’s future. Tech industry is likely to face a shortfall of over a million skilled workers in years ahead. International talent is arguably the need of the hour for America.For India, this move could be beneficial although it would interfere with aspirations of Indians looking to work in US. While some temporary visa holders would opt to work in other foreign countries with less stringent citizenship laws, this order — if passed — would increase the number of Indian professionals staying back in India.Some of India’s best minds in fields such as medicine and engineering graduate from Indian universities and work in US. Driving factors are better pay and potential for children to grow up in US and access better education and infra that a US citizenship is perceived to bring with it. Bright young Indians who head to US for higher studies on temporary permits are driven by similar aspirations. Revoking birthright citizenship could lead to an influx of skilled professionals — something India has been attempting to achieve but has struggled with. This reverse brain drain could bolster India’s tech industry that’s already projected to grow, allowing India to position itself as a more significant player globally.India now has a booming startup ecosystem, with cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai serving as centres for innovation that could generate jobs for Indians who return or choose to stay back. Moreover, Indian companies too offer competitive salaries, and Bengaluru is known for offering large salary packages to junior- to mid-level employees in the tech industry. Govt also is actively promoting the return of NRIs to India and is promoting jobs in emerging sectors such as clean energy and fintech.In order to access skilled talent, US companies may resort to establishing or expanding their operations in India, which can foster bilateral tech collaborations. India is currently home to many Global Capability Centres (GCCs), such as the Microsoft India Development Centre and Goldman Sachs Services India, which are important components of these corporations' operations. With a decrease in foreign tech talent in US, there is likely to be an increase in the number of GCCs, and those already established could scale up.While the number of GCCs may hurt India’s IT and tech firms, the overall number of skilled professionals would benefit the country. Indian tech firms could have many more outsourcing and partnership opportunities headed their way. Currently, India has also struggled to establish itself as a leading player in fields such as AI, blockchain, and quantum computing. The increase in skilled professionals who would remain in the country will likely grow India’s high-tech capabilities. In the long run, increased demand for local opportunities could catalyse the expansion of India’s tech-training ecosystem. This would be beneficial for the Indian economy as well, as it would increase the tax-paying population.Even if the order is finally implemented, it may not be the worst outcome for India. Whether costs for the American tech industry were an outcome that Trump accounted for when he signed the executive order remains to be seen, but it could prove to be beneficial for India. America’s talent lost may turn out to be India’s brain gain.The writer is a research analyst at Takshashila Institution