Sean and Michelle waited years to start a family after coming legally to the United States. They immigrated to Florida from Venezuela, where Sean had served in the military before facing threats from the Hugo Chavez regime.
They worked, started a business and had a daughter. But they've been waiting to grow their family. They're waiting on the Supreme Court to decide if President Donald Trump's effort to do away with birthright citizenship is constitutional or not.
The court heard oral arguments last week on the president's executive order banning birthright citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to parents who do not have legal status or are in America on a temporary visa. It was among the orders signed by the president on his first day in office.
"In January 2025 when the current administration took office, that executive order was one of those that made us feel terrified," Michelle said.
Michelle is not her real name. WLRN has spoken with her over the past year and a half as she and her husband, Sean, navigate the shifting immigration system.
READ MORE: A Venezuelan couple has 'nowhere to go' after a decade adrift in the U.S. immigration system
The two were married when they entered the U.S. legally more than a decade ago. They waited until Michelle was 36 to have their first child – a daughter. "It wasn't something that suddenly happened. We planned. We waited. We work hard for our financial stability. When everything was stable, then we decided to have our child," she said.
Today, their daughter is in second grade and is an American citizen since she was born in the U.S. She plays two instruments and loves school.
We are stressed and worried about an unborn child's legal status.
Michelle and Sean first claimed political asylum when they entered the U.S. After waiting years with no resolution, they claimed temporary protected status when TPS was extended to Venezuelans. More recently, Michelle was granted a H1B visa. And now, Michelle said, they have been allowed to apply for permanent residency – a Green Card. The next step would be to become American citizens.
"It's been a long journey, but we have been always doing things within the law," she said. "So in January 2025, we were shocked because we were trying to have another child."
Those plans have been on pause for more than a year now.
Florida has a lot at stake with the Supreme Court's decision on Trump's effort to do away with birthright citizenship. Almost one million people from a foreign country have moved to Florida in the past decade. Census Bureau data show nine out of 10 people moving to Florida last year came from overseas.
Today, about one out of every five Floridians were born in another country, like Michelle and Sean. Some have become citizens, like Michelle and Sean want to. She said the two of them are racing against the clock, though not for their immigration journey, but for their family planning.
"I'm talking about a biological clock," she said. "I'm 44. I visited my doctors. They said, 'You're not old. You're not an old woman.' But I don't know how long I can wait."
The couple are hoping the Supreme Court strikes down Trump's executive order and reaffirms what has been the law since 1868 — that a baby born on American soil, regardless of their parents, is a U.S. citizen. If that is the ruling, Michelle said they won't have to wait to try to have another child as they go through the process to become permanent residents and, eventually, citizens.
She described the strain of the uncertainty, on top of all the pressures of family life and everything that comes around the decision to expand a family, as "this super-stress on top."
A century of practice
A court ruling upholding Trump's ban on automatic birthright citizenship would upend more than a century of practice. The president's executive order prohibits citizenship for children born to parents who are in the U.S. legally, but not permanent residents — like Sean and Michelle. The order requires one parent to be a citizen or have a Green Card, which Sean and Michelle are pursuing, but have not yet been granted.
Both had Venezuelan passports, but they expired several years ago. Like many Venezuelans living in the U.S., they've been unable to get them renewed due to the rocky diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Venezuela.
The ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro by the U.S. earlier this year has not given Michelle hope. Despite being taken out of the country to face drug trafficking charges in America, Maduro's second-in-command, Delcy Rodríguez assumed the top role.
" I will never step into (the Venezuelan) consulate. I don't trust those people. I will feel terrified," Michelle said.
It essentially leaves the couple stateless if they lose their lawful status in America, and they fear the same could apply to a newborn if there is no birthright citizenship.
"We are stressed and worried about an unborn child's legal status," she shared. "Yeah, it is exactly like that."
She and Sean speak often about their faith when talking about their immigration efforts. It's a faith Michelle said she hears now from their daughter.
"When that little girl prays for a sister or a brother she says, 'It doesn't matter if it's a boy or girl. I just want someone to play with," Michelle said.
"If it's something that is going to be for good, then God is going to allow us to do it," she added.
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