The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case involving President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. The case turns on one critical phrase in the Fourteenth Amendment: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The Court’s interpretation of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” will have major consequences for immigration enforcement, national security and the meaning of American citizenship.
If the Court rules that every illegal alien in the United States is fully “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, it would grant automatic citizenship to virtually every child born on U.S. soil — except children of diplomats and children of members of invading armies (setting aside the citizenship provided to Native Americans through legislation). The effects would be significant and largely irreversible.
And it would magnify several serious problems:
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We cannot overlook the consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision in this case. The right decision here — applying the plain meaning of the text at the time of its adoption — restores and protects the value of citizenship and the American identity. It would benefit the country significantly in countless ways that others have articulated elsewhere.
And if the Court correctly holds that illegal aliens and temporary visitors are not fully subject to U.S. jurisdiction, it remains entirely possible for a future (and extraordinarily foolish) Congress to use the democratic process to provide citizenship to illegal aliens through some sort of amnesty. Again, it would be a terrible policy move, but it would remain possible.
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But if the Court constitutionalizes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, the damage becomes nearly permanent. Ordinary legislation cannot override it. The only remedy would be a constitutional amendment, which is effectively impossible in today’s political environment, where the minority parties in both chambers of Congress refuse to even prioritize the needs of traveling American citizens over those of illegal aliens facing deportation.
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The Fourteenth Amendment was never meant to grant automatic citizenship to children of people who enter or remain here illegally. It was ratified after the Civil War to secure the rights of freed slaves. Restoring the original meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is not radical. It is faithful to the text and history of the Amendment.
The Supreme Court now faces a high-stakes decision. The American people deserve a ruling grounded in constitutional text and common sense — one that protects the value of citizenship, defends the interests of the American people, and upholds the rule of law.
The Court must get this right.
