Supreme Court’s Stance on Birthright Citizenship Awaits Outcome
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul remains optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court will affirm the principle of birthright citizenship. However, he expressed concern over the court’s decision to review the case.
Earlier this year, Kaul, alongside 24 Democratic state attorneys general, contributed to a friend-of-the-court brief relating to this notable case. The brief asserts that the U.S. Constitution clearly grants citizenship to children born in the United States.
This stance contradicts an executive order by former President Donald Trump, which aimed to revoke this right for children born to parents lacking permanent legal status.
Lower courts have so far prevented Trump’s order from being implemented. The Supreme Court heard arguments about the order on Wednesday. Kaul shared with WPR’s Wisconsin Today that he was pleased to see conservative justices express “overwhelming skepticism” towards the Trump administration’s stance.
Kaul remarked on the program, “What the Trump administration did here just flouts precedent. It flouts the language of the Constitution, and it would fundamentally change what it means to be an American.”
The 14th Amendment, since the late 19th century, has affirmed that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” The Trump administration has interpreted the jurisdiction clause as a basis to challenge birthright citizenship under certain conditions.
Despite this interpretation, courts have long upheld birthright citizenship. Kaul stated, “It is the plain language of our Constitution. If we can’t even uphold that language, that’s a real threat to the rule of law.”
He further expressed disappointment that the Supreme Court entertained arguments on the matter, saying to Wisconsin Today, “The fact that the Supreme Court even took this for argument, and heard argument on it shows that Donald Trump has been able to exert his authority in a way that has caused courts to take up arguments that really aren’t serious.”
Senator Johnson’s Perspective: A Cautionary Approach
Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson voiced his disappointment with the justices’ skepticism towards the Trump administration’s arguments. In an interview with Fox News, the Republican senator from Oshkosh suggested that the implications of birthright citizenship could be detrimental.
“I mean, this is using the Constitution, you know, it’s not a suicide pact,” Johnson told Fox News Anchor Maria Bartiromo. “Maybe their ruling will be on the law and on the Constitution. But you have to look at the bigger picture here.”
Johnson accused China of exploiting birth tourism to weaken the United States. Birth tourism refers to the practice of pregnant women traveling to the U.S. to give birth, thereby securing U.S. citizenship for their children.
“Birthright citizenship tourism — this is going to destroy this country,” Johnson said. “Creating all these millions of voters, they will obviously not be voting in the best interest of America. So we have to understand exactly what the left is doing, what Communist China is doing, and we need to act now to prevent that.”
The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for reduced immigration levels, estimates that temporary visitors to the U.S. gave birth to approximately 70,000 babies in 2023. However, other organizations have argued that the figures provided by CIS are exaggerated.
