Four Problems for Trump in Birthright Citizenship Case
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments regarding President Trump's plan to limit birthright citizenship, focusing on the constitutional interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
- The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, has traditionally been understood to grant citizenship to nearly all babies born in the U.S., regardless of their parents' immigration status.
- The Trump administration argues that the amendment does not automatically confer citizenship to children born to parents who are in the U.S. unlawfully or temporarily.
- The case also involves the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which uses similar language to the 14th Amendment in defining citizenship, complicating the legal questions at hand.
- The administration's solicitor general, D. John Sauer, has indicated that their position on the 14th Amendment would also apply to the 1952 statute, linking the constitutional and statutory interpretations closely.
