Conservatives John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh joined the three liberals on the Trump Court in a 6-3 decision striking down an executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens.
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights – to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today,” Roberts wrote for the court.
The ruling upholds the constitutional notion of birthright citizenship that has been the law of the land since the 1860s.
Donald Trump, on the first day of his second term, issued an executive order declaring that “the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States,” even though, in actuality, that has always been the view, constitutionally and legally.
Trump, positioning himself as a nativist, though he himself is a first-generation American on his mother’s side – his mother was born in Scotland, and became a naturalized citizen in 1942, four years before giving birth to the future president – has called birthright citizenship “one of the many great scams of our time,” which is rich, considering his history of grifting.
Responses
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
“President Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship by executive order was lawless and shameful from the start. I am glad that the Supreme Court ruled against this attempted circumvention of the Fourteenth Amendment and the foundational Supreme Court precedent of Wong Kim Ark. Today the Court affirmed the post-Civil War guarantee that no matter your parents’ circumstances, if you are born in the United States, you are an American and may pursue your happiness here.”
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, D-Va.
“Today, 250 years after our nation’s founding, the Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to rewrite the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship by executive fiat.
“The 14th Amendment directly rejected the abhorrent decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford excluding Americans born enslaved and their descendants from citizenship. By guaranteeing citizenship to all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, the 14th Amendment ensures that individuals born in the United States can continue to live here without fear of persecution or mistreatment, possessing the full rights and privileges of citizenship.
“Birthright citizenship draws from over a century of legal precedent in support of the ideals of diversity, fairness and equality under the law that we continue to strive for today. As Justice Jackson notes in her concurring opinion, it also reflects the principles of the English common law that endured for centuries, and the founding of our states as a new nation of immigrants. In the Trump Administration’s aggressive campaign to take our nation backwards, Executive Order No. 14160 sought to upend our most fundamental historical understanding of citizenship and tear families apart.
“President Trump’s attempts to redefine birthright citizenship are appalling. The fact that three Justices were prepared to let him do it is even more absurd. We face a wave of threats from the Trump Administration to the progress we have made towards a more perfect Union with liberty and justice for all. I’ll continue to fight such efforts in Congress and uphold our constitutional rights.”
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va.
“I’m glad the courts recognized that President Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order was a blatant and unconstitutional attempt to strip citizenship from children of immigrants all across the country. These immigrants are folks who have served our country in so many ways and contributed to the success of our economy. And make no mistake: they are American.
“We will continue to push for long overdue, commonsense immigration reform and fight this administration’s blatant immigration overreach.”
Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Va.
“Today’s decision reaffirms one of the most fundamental promises of the Fourteenth Amendment: that every child born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. This ruling upholds our Constitution, protects countless families from fear and uncertainty, and affirms that citizenship is not a partisan tool.”
Support AFP
Share
Chris Graham
