US Supreme Court Upholds Birthright Citizenship, Bringing Hope to Immigrant Families

(CNA Washington, July 1, 2024) The U.S. Supreme Court today upheld the principle of "birthright citizenship," rejecting President Trump's executive order to restrict it. Civil rights groups waiting outside the court for the results expressed great excitement, stating that this brings hope to immigrant families and provides psychological security for children, calling it "absolutely wonderful."

The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling summary stated that children born in the United States to parents who are undocumented or temporarily residing in the country are within the "jurisdiction" of the United States and, by the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, are U.S. citizens from birth.

For over a century, anyone born in the United States, regardless of whether their parents are U.S. citizens, hold green cards, short-term visas, or entered illegally or overstayed their visas, has been granted citizenship under the first section of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

This amendment was passed in 1868 after the end of the Civil War and the abolition of slavery. However, after returning to the White House last year, Trump signed an executive order directing government agencies not to issue documents recognizing citizenship for children born to parents who are undocumented or hold short-term visas. This order was ruled by a lower court to be in violation of the 14th Amendment.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed late last year to rule on the legality of Trump's directive to restrict U.S. birthright citizenship. After hearing oral arguments in April, the court issued its ruling today.

Civil rights group League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which was waiting outside the court for news, was overjoyed upon hearing the outcome.

Lu, a coordinator of research and policy for LULAC, told CNA in an interview that birthright citizenship is an issue not only for Latinos but also for Asian and Southeast Asian Americans, stating, "It concerns everyone who wants to come to this country and become an American, and those who are born here."

She said the significance of this ruling is that "if you are born here, you are an American." Today, the 14th Amendment has been upheld, the Constitution has been upheld, and this is exciting.

Lu believes this brings more hope to immigrant families, children, and families with mixed immigration status. "If you are born here, you belong here, you are an American, and you can pursue the American Dream." Most importantly, "this provides psychological security for children."

Valanca (Natalya Sonya Huallanca), a policy researcher at LULAC and a beneficiary of birthright citizenship herself, said that as the daughter of Peruvian immigrants who came to the United States with dreams, she "cannot imagine what it would be like without birthright citizenship."

Valanca, 20, said the outcome of this ruling will allow more children to live the American Dream and have a better future in the United States, calling it "absolutely wonderful."

However, Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, stating that the Supreme Court upholding birthright citizenship is "terrible for our country," but with the President's support, "we can easily remedy this through congressional legislation." Congress should begin working today to end "expensive and unfair" birthright citizenship.

Trump previously claimed that the U.S. birthright citizenship system was not originally intended for "children of wealthy Chinese people" to become U.S. citizens, but rather for the descendants of slaves. He argued that this system is being abused and, if allowed to continue, would have a "disastrous impact on the U.S. economy." (Editor: Hong Qi-yuan) 0701

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