Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship
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M.A. Dworkin
Washington, D.C. - In a major blow to President Donald Trump’s attempts to circumvent the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, definitively rejecting President Trump’s attempt to limit the constitutional right of babies born on U.S. soil. In a landmark 6-3 decision, the Court ruled that babies born on U.S. soil - including undocumented parents or those on temporary visas - are automatically American citizens under the 14th Amendment.
The 6-3 majority delivered a major blow to Trump’s immigration agenda and struck down the contentious executive order Trump signed on his first day in office aimed at denying citizenship to babies unless at least one parent was a citizen or legal permanent resident.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson, concluding that the executive order violated the Constitution.
The ruling upholds a 150-year old constitutional guarantee that ensures automatic citizenship for virtually anyone born on U.S. soil.
The Citizenship Clause is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was adopted on July 9, 1868, which states:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.
This clause reversed a portion of the Dred Scott v. Sanford decision, which had declared that African Americans were not and could not become citizens of the United States or enjoy any of the privileges and immunities of citizenship.
