Roberts Sides With Liberals as Court Strikes Down Trump’s Birthright Order
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship in a 5-4 decision, dealing a major setback to one of his most aggressive immigration moves.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion. He said, “Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause,” Roberts wrote.
Roberts was joined by Amy Coney Barrett, Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson.
The ruling is a sharp reminder that the fight over birthright citizenship is still very much alive. Trump asked the Supreme Court in September to end the policy, arguing that the 14th Amendment has been stretched far beyond what its authors intended. Several federal judges had already blocked his order before the justices weighed in.
Trump’s order took direct aim at what it called a broken reading of the Constitution. It said the 14th Amendment is being misinterpreted by the left to give citizenship to “anchor babies.”
The order also spelled out the policy it wanted the federal government to follow: “It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth,” Trump’s order stated.
It also argued that the 14th Amendment has never been read as a blank check for automatic citizenship. “The [The] Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Consistent with this understanding, the Congress has further specified through legislation that “a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is a national and citizen of the United States at birth, 8 U.S.C. 1401, generally mirroring the Fourteenth Amendment’s text,” the order stated.
For now, the court’s ruling keeps birthright citizenship in place and blocks Trump’s effort to rewrite it by executive action.
BREAKING… please check back for updates.