SCOTUS Upholds Birthright Citizenship; Says Trump Order Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decided that President Donald Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship is unconstitutional.

The Ruling: The decision was six to three against Trump, however, Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented the argument as it pertained to the constitution, instead pointing to a federal law he said broadly conveys birthright citizenship. Chief Justice John Roberts said in his opinion that "Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land.'" Justice Clarence Thomas, in his opinion of dissent said, "I am not sure that today's ruling will stand the test of time," adding that the decision "devalues" American citizenship." The ruling according to Thomas "adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support."

Loose Policy: Breitbart (Right bias) framed the decision as a "huge prize of citizenship to nearly all infants born in the United States, even if the parents are illegal migrants or temporary visitors." The article called the version of birthright citizenship upheld by the court a "loose policy," explaining that "Zohran Mamdani's election victory in migrant-crowded New York is difficult to imagine without." Breitbart said that "millions of infants with no parental connection to the United States have gained citizenship via this route, much to the advantage of the Democratic Party."

 "Reacted Furiously": The Associated Press (Lean Left) highlighted "the notable exceptions when the [Supreme] court has not" agreed with Trump, saying he "responded with starkly personal criticisms of the justices." As an example, the article mentioned that "Trump reacted furiously to the late February tariffs decision, saying he was ashamed of the justices who ruled against him," adding that he called them "unpatriotic."

"One Goodish and One Horrific": Andrea Widburg, writing opinion for American Thinker (Right) said "The Supreme Court released two decisions today, one goodish and one horrific." Widburg explained that "It's great that the feds can't force conservative states to make girls compete with boys, but illegal aliens and foreigners will still determine who's a citizen." According to Widburg, The opinion [ruling on birthright citizenship] grounds itself in British common law and American precedent to claim that opposing birthright citizenship is ahistorical and racist." Widburg added, however, that "if you look at the history of the 14^th Amendment, it's patently clear that it was not intended to allow every child born on American soil to gain citizenship."

"Trump Was Still Wrong": Opinion writer Dace Potas (Lean Right), writing for USA Today (Lean Left) said "The Constitution doesn't let a president rewrite the 14^th Amendment by decree—not even one with legitimate grievances about how birthright citizenship works in practice." Dace asserted that while "birthright citizenship has real problems. Trump was still wrong." According to Dace, the Trump administration's argument had "more than 150 years of precedent and legal understanding" running against it.  

Related: Media Blindspot: How Wealthy Chinese Are Taking Advantage of US Birthright Citizenship

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