Birthright Citizenship: A Landmark Ruling
'No president has the power to decide who is entitled to the rights our Constitution protects.'
Today, the Supreme Court ruled that the president cannot unilaterally rewrite the Constitution when it upheld birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Here, reactions to the court’s decision.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM): Birthright citizenship is a constitutional right. PERIOD.
Norman Eisen, co-founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund and publisher of The Contrarian: Today’s ruling is more than a legal landmark. It is a human one. For more than a century, birthright citizenship has been a cornerstone of equal citizenship and national belonging in our country. This decision reaffirms that fundamental guarantee — no president has the power to decide who is entitled to the rights our Constitution protects. Americans’ rights cannot simply be erased by the Trump administration’s reckless executive actions.
Cecillia Wang, ACLU National Legal Director, who argued the case at the Supreme Court: The court’s decision reaffirms a fundamental American promise – if you are born here, you are a citizen. A president cannot change the Constitution by executive fiat. Our brave clients and our legal team stand with millions of people around our country who spoke up for one of our most cherished rights. The Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship stands strong.
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA): Our country has long held that children born on U.S. soil or U.S. territories are citizens. Today they no longer have to worry about an administration who tried to deny them this right.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown: Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed a constitutional guarantee that has defined this nation for more than 150 years: birthright citizenship. It is now settled law that every child born in Maryland has all the same privileges and protections as any other American citizen. This ruling is a victory for our Constitution and the promise that every child born in the United States deserves to help shape its future. It is a victory for nervous parents, terrified that the Court would cast doubt on whether their children are U.S. citizens. And it is a victory for the rule of law, ensuring that the President cannot rewrite the Constitution simply because he does not like the rights it gives the people he has sworn to serve.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM): President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship was unlawful and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court rejected that effort today, but Congress cannot stand by as Trump continues testing the limits of his power and trying to rewrite the law in his favor.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): Even Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court knows that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution. The fight to defend immigrant rights from Trump’s cruelty is not over, but today the Court upheld the law. It’s simple: if you’re born in America, you’re an American.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM): Birthright citizenship isn’t up for debate — it’s enshrined in our Constitution. Today’s decision reaffirms what has long been settled law: if you’re born in the United States, you’re an American citizen.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA): If you’re born in America, you’re an American. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 Today’s decision is a victory but also a reminder that our constitutional values are under fierce attack by far-right extremists. Democracy is an action. Use your voice and your vote to protect American democracy.
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD): The Supreme Court did the right thing today and upheld birthright citizenship. If you are born in the United States, you are a citizen of the United States. Our country and our laws do not bend to this President’s whims and bigotry. This country belongs to the people.
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA): The Supreme Court just rejected Trump’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship! Birthright citizenship is a constitutional right. End of story. If you’re born on U.S. soil, you’re a U.S. citizen. That’s something no President can take away.
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO): Birthright citizenship is a cornerstone of our Constitution and rests on the belief that all Americans are equal under the law. Any attempt to revoke or undermine that constitutional guarantee is unlawful, and the Supreme Court agrees. In February, I joined 27 of my Senate colleagues urging the Supreme Court to protect birthright citizenship against Trump’s heinous attacks. Today, the Supreme Court stood with every other court in the nation that has considered this issue and made clear: if you are born in the United States, you are an American citizen. That is a victory for the rule of law, for our Constitution, and for the promise of this country. We must continue to stand up for those values and for an America that strives every day to live up to its founding ideals.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV): Today, the Supreme Court upheld a fundamental American value: if you’re born in the United States, you’re an American citizen. There is no question – birthright citizenship has been and will continue to be a part of our Constitution. It’s past time for the attacks on our nation’s core ideals to end.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA): Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed a fundamental promise of the 14th Amendment: if you’re born in the United States, you’re an American citizen. We have, and always will be, a nation of immigrants. Today we celebrate. Tomorrow, we keep fighting to protect our democracy.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI): The president tried to rewrite the Constitution, and even his handpicked Supreme Court told him he went too far and reined him in. If you’re born in the United States, you are an American. Period. This should have never been up for debate in the first place.
Sen. Chuck Schmuer (D-NY): Despite Trump’s best efforts to bully them, the Supreme Court just reaffirmed that if you are born in America, you belong in America.
Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund: The Constitution, not the president, defines who is a citizen. And the 14th Amendment makes clear that every child born on U.S. soil is a citizen. Today, a narrow majority of the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed these unequivocal truths. We cannot and will not turn our attention away from the fact that what should have been a 9-0 decision instead revealed that four justices agreed to varying degrees with the president’s desecration of the Constitution. Nor does this absolve the court of its countless decisions that have violated decades of precedent and established doctrine at the expense of Black people, communities of color, and immigrants. Nonetheless, today, we applaud this significant win.
Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus: This is an important victory for all Americans, including Asian Americans who have been told for generations that we don’t belong here, and who have been part of the fight for birthright citizenship from the start. Wong Kim Ark was born just blocks from the Asian Law Caucus. We and our immigrant clients have continued the same fight for full and equal membership in this country. Today, the court reaffirmed what we’ve always known: we are American, and we are here to stay.
Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU: With a 6-3 judgment from the U.S. Supreme Court, President Trump suffered a stunning loss on a signature order he signed on day one of his presidency. This was one of the most important constitutional cases of the past 100 years. The president bet his legacy trying to secure this policy win — even attending the argument in person — and he lost. It was especially gratifying that the majority opinion was authored by Chief Justice Roberts, and that Trump appointees Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett agreed with the decision to strike down the order.
This ruling should have been unanimous, given the plain language of the 14th amendment. OK, given the "unusual" views of Alito and Thomas on almost every issue, it should have. been 7-2, at least. The more interesting and disturbing result, and one that requires considerable comment, is that the decision was NOT 9-0 or even 7-2. This is yet another reason that expanding the SCOTUS is necessary, by the Ds, once they have the power to do so. Imposing 10 year term limits would be a good idea, too.
Interested in why the dissenters dissented. Could lead to more cases. Also, Kavanaugh bases his concurrence on the enabling law, not the Constitution, which could change the result, should the law be amended. Not as good as I'd hoped.