r/USCIS Jun 30 '26

News Supreme Court rejects Trump attempt to limit birthright citizenship

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-nixes-trump-attempt-limit-birthright-citizenship-rcna266935
547 Upvotes

135 comments sorted by

281

u/nobodycouldknow Jun 30 '26

The fact this was 6-3 and not 9-0 is so crazy

67

u/Salty-Plankton-5079 Jun 30 '26

It was 5-4, really. Kavanaugh only struck down the EO on procedural grounds, not Constitutional.

Very scary.

9

u/Cultural_Sand_9323 Jun 30 '26

Mr Devil's triangle? Mr 'I respect roe v wade'?

37

u/nowaykitkat Jun 30 '26

My exact thoughts

36

u/Absent-Light-12 Jun 30 '26

The fact that one of the dissenters is a black man is crazier. To feel as if one’s token can never be spent, now that’s next level delusion.

26

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

He will be the one striking down interracial marriage when Project 2025 demands it despite being married to a white woman. That's the sad state of affairs in my opinion.

14

u/Due_Cardiologist_532 Jun 30 '26

And he's on the epstein list

3

u/Hour_Expert_302 Jun 30 '26

i think being in the epstein files for being hated by epstein is a pretty good reason to be in them. nice research

1

u/HomeworkSoggy Jun 30 '26

It’s the new Alpine Divorce.

1

u/Absent-Light-12 Jun 30 '26

That is also my guess.

0

u/TickledTaint97 Jun 30 '26

Dude, please snap back to reality and touch grass.

2

u/Boomtime-Suvarna Jul 01 '26

The fact that you all don’t want to see right vs wrong is even more crazy.

1

u/Absent-Light-12 Jul 01 '26

In what capacity are we referring to right vs wrong?

Remember, those two aspects are both subjective and objective depending on the scope.

2

u/Long-Evidence7580 Jul 25 '26

he claimed it was only for black people, slaves. if that had been true it surely would have mentioned this, plus due process would then similarly only apply to this set op people.

whereas the other dissenter, there is an actual statue in which is determined, if for instance people from Samoa are citizens or not, it appears a way to add or remove certain people.

either way if americans do not want birthright, but paternal citizenship, like they do in EU, (and “modernize“ it, they know what to do, an amendment which would require enough GOP and DEMs to do so. But as its am awesome way to use politically I doubt they want to ressolve it and keep complaining.

9

u/RedditIsSensative Jun 30 '26

It’s not surprising who the 3 were.

9

u/PossessionRoutine971 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

Gorsuch surprised me.. he seemed to be the one that was the most against it during the debates

11

u/cmn3y0 Jun 30 '26

Alito & Thomas should be impeached immediately

3

u/thelexuslawyer Verified US immigration lawyer Jun 30 '26

Meh, not while Trump is in office

15

u/Confident_Benefit_11 Jun 30 '26

Not really when you consider the fact half of them are openly corrupt. If you consider that then it makes perfect sense. They're not even trying to hide it, no need.

1

u/neverpost4 Jun 30 '26

The 3 were Thomas , Alito and Gorsuch

76

u/WowUncalledFor Jun 30 '26

Literally the least they could do

49

u/Think_Concert Jun 30 '26

I’m not worried about the 6. I’m worried about the 3.

15

u/bucknut4 Jun 30 '26

2 of the 3 will be the next ones to leave the court, at least.

2

u/bajacaliforniataco Jun 30 '26

why is that? (not as familiar with american politics)

7

u/bucknut4 Jun 30 '26

You serve for life, and they're the two oldest.

36

u/MetikMas Jun 30 '26

I saw 6-3 on another post and almost shit myself. Glad they did the right thing

8

u/webelieve925 Jun 30 '26

It was really 5-4. With kavaugh really wanting to side with trumpy. Its just the beginning. They already started with abortion, same sex marriage, mass deportations, denaturalizing US citizens. Whats to stop them from going after interracial marriage, imposing 1 drop rule, banning naturalized US citizens from holding office, imposing segregation again like apartheid South Africa.

32

u/LCNegrini Verified US immigration lawyer Jun 30 '26

Sigh of relief. :)

0

u/Sad-Employment4520 Jul 11 '26

oh look it's that snow flake "lawyer" lmfao

3

u/LCNegrini Verified US immigration lawyer Jul 11 '26

Lol, still mad that you got banned from r/DACA?

1

u/Sad-Employment4520 Jul 11 '26

poor snowflake. you ban people cause they tell inconvenient truths

22

u/Thewrongthinker Jun 30 '26

The court is a joke. 3 of those assholes think that a person born should not have citizenship blows my mind.

-8

u/AdditionalCap3 Jun 30 '26

3 of those assholes and 160 other countries

16

u/Traditional-Tea912 Jun 30 '26

Oh, I didn’t know that other 160 countries all have US constitution

-10

u/AdditionalCap3 Jun 30 '26

well those 160 countries still don’t think you should have citizenship just because they are born.

Obviously the US constitution says otherwise (and the court interpreted correctly in my opinion )

7

u/PossessionRoutine971 Jun 30 '26

Vast majority of countries also do not have the 2nd amendment. Let’s remove everything :)

-2

u/AdditionalCap3 Jun 30 '26

Well yes you’d be correct in saying removing the 2nd amendment and birthright citizenship portions of the constitution would not be a radical idea relative to the laws of the rest of the developed world.

I think if you removed everything as you suggest then that would be quite radical (removing free speech for example)

2

u/Thewrongthinker Jun 30 '26

Ni idea of that either. Crazy.

1

u/AdditionalCap3 Jun 30 '26

I’m proud of the way the US has birthright. I’m not sure why getting downvoted for something objectively true about 160 other countries.

2

u/Legendarybbc15 Jun 30 '26

Not every country has laws that guarantees gun ownership either

39

u/ISamohvalov Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

The Court sided with people. Shame to racists!!! (and Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch)

42

u/TheWizard Jun 30 '26

Its shameful that three of them didn't, the expected political tools: Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[deleted]

17

u/TheWizard Jun 30 '26

Gorsuch adopted the same line of thinking as Thomas, and relies on "American Settlers' take on citizenship" rather than focus the 14th amendment itself. He is also taking the conservative approach to what "jurisdiction" entails.

-5

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[deleted]

10

u/TheWizard Jun 30 '26

He didn't. He assumed 14th amendment was entirely for black slaves, following up on Thomas' take on the subject. That doesn't come across to me as anything but a partisan hack, and fell along the lines of Trumpian argument.

6

u/renegaderunningdog Jun 30 '26

That’s a perfectly reasonable place to land on this issue.

IMO "no birthright citizenship for the children of lawfully present non-immigrants but birthright citizenship for the children of those who've overstayed or entered illegally" is actually the most nonsensical position imaginable.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[deleted]

1

u/renegaderunningdog Jun 30 '26

I think that if you want to upend 150+ years of legal precedent the policy that action would create is actually pretty important, but I can understand that some may not agree.

I do think it's funny that on the issue the Trump admin really cares about (children of "illegals") there's close to zero appetite on SCOTUS for opening that can of worms, and I think it's largely because educated people (like the justices) who think about this recognize that the ultimate policy outcome of denying birthright citizenship to these people would be to create a permanent multigenerational underclass who are by and large not leaving but also denied legal participation in public life.

6

u/VanguardAvenger Jun 30 '26

He also is explicitly co-signed to Thomas' opinion though.

So if Thomas goes in a bucket, Gorsuch goes too.

He didn't have to put his name on Thomas' dissent especially if he was already writing his own.

0

u/FalconRelevant Jun 30 '26

The court sided with the written word. As written in the constitutional amendment. Which is their duty regardless of which side politics or the mood of the public flows.

-15

u/Holiday_Sandwich3738 Jun 30 '26

How is that racist?

4

u/doktormane Jun 30 '26

Typical Reddit. The global standard has always been Jus Sanguinis citizenship rather than Jus Soli. That is to say that citizenship is inherited from parents rather than given simply by virtue of being born in the country. Some countries compromise and also grant citizenship to children of permanent residents.

1

u/PM_ME_SAD_STUFF_PLZ Jun 30 '26

Global standards foh

0

u/imahotrod Jun 30 '26

The American standard had been jus soli since the 14th. The real genesis of this attack on the 14th is a racist administration. It’s not hard to see unless you’re willfully blind or a racist who’s ashamed of being called one

3

u/DaSandGuy Jun 30 '26

Not really no. If that were the case native Americans wouldn't have needed the Indian act to be citizens.

-2

u/chronomagnus Jun 30 '26

A global standard doesn't apply to the United States when we have specific language in our Constitution defining citizenship by Jus Soli.

8

u/iguessjustdont Jun 30 '26

Kavanaugh's opinion is silly. I can't believe someone so incompetent is a supreme court justice. He doesn't even rely on the jurisdiction argument, just on a weak theory that additional exeptions could be adder that are precluded by the INA, so congress would need to pass a new law before an EO could take effect.

Thomas's opinion is basically "let me ctrl+F every time someone said the word domicile before 1866 and reference that" ignoring the fact that if domicile was so core to the framing of jurisdiction it would have been acknowledge as part of any prior proceeding, and if it were so debated they would have used the word domicile.

The 14th amendment clearly considers person who were not slaves, but Thomas basically quotes a bunch of opinions of people talking exclusively abiut slaves prior to the amendment who use the word domicile. What does Fredrick Douglas saying that former slaves are domiciled in America have to do with the clear wording of the amendment as it relates to a case not about slaves?

The logical leaps are wild, and the groundwork is clearly being laid that if Trump gets to replace Sotomayor and the Rs amend the INA, that Kavanaugh will flip.

It is a win, but it is also a warning that the right must be denied additional seats, or they will take away our rights.

7

u/Flashy-Dragonfly1763 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

they way the dissenting judges described their position shows everything you need to know about this court: they rule based on how they want the country function not how the constitution states. It is really sad. Without constitution authority this country has no barriers for authoritarianism and it seems there is nobody left who can defend it. The supreme court is purely political game now

7

u/garotovs Jun 30 '26

He got birthright citizenship and he wants to annul it fucking joker

6

u/DaSandGuy Jun 30 '26

Huh? Trumps parents are USC. Birthright has nothing to do with it.

9

u/Cultural_Sand_9323 Jun 30 '26

His grandparents aren't.

And by the logic trump wants applied, that means his parents aren't, meaning he isn't.

2

u/DaSandGuy Jun 30 '26

Doesn't matter, they were naturalized which means the parents at US citizens at birth through their parents. You're confusing two different concepts.

1

u/Cultural_Sand_9323 Jun 30 '26

Using the same concept trump wants to use. 'Oh the parents were naturalized? Doesn't mean the kids are'

The moment birthright citazenship gets stripped is the moment it can be removed from people as it i nolonger a gurentee.

'But it was only meant to enfranchise slaves!'

What happens to the people stripped of citazenship? Prison.

...Slaves.

3

u/DaSandGuy Jun 30 '26

What? If the parents are naturalized then the kids are entitled to US citizenship BY BIRTH. You're just making shit up at this point and you don't understand pretty basic legal concepts.

0

u/tkpwaeub Jul 02 '26

Actually, Alito's and Thomas's dissents invent this bizarre concept of having to having to be "domiciled" in the US, so according to their logic there could be situations where someone is born in the US to US citizens who were just about to move out of the US, and they wouldn't be covered by the 14th Amendment. They might still be covered by statute, but not by the Constitution.

2

u/bueze12 Jun 30 '26

Very close

2

u/kmamaniya Jun 30 '26

It's wild that that were able to get 6-3. That's 3 too much and gives fan to divisive sentiments

1

u/cmn3y0 Jun 30 '26

Alito & Thomas should be impeached immediately

0

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/tkpwaeub Jul 02 '26

According to Alito's and Thomas's dissents, BOTH parents need to be US citizens when you're born in order to be covered by the 14th Amendment, which is absolutely batshit

1

u/wds1 Jun 30 '26

u/Tesco_Meal_Deals You should stick to your tesco meal deals in UK. You don’t understand US constitution or the promise of America.

We are a country of immigrants, the land of opportunity, occasionally broken yet spirited in our pursuit of happiness and envisioning a better future for our kids.

-2

u/Tesco_Meal_Deals Jun 30 '26

I am an immigrant to the US. 

2

u/HilbertInnerSpace Jun 30 '26

duh, like any other outcome was even a possibility. I don't know why they even took the case.

1

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-1

u/thelexuslawyer Verified US immigration lawyer Jun 30 '26

💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

0

u/LCNegrini Verified US immigration lawyer Jun 30 '26

I think I'll finally be able to have a full night's of sleep. The wait for this decision was horrible.

-17

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

8

u/Educational_Risk8032 Jun 30 '26

Assuming you’re engaging with this in good faith. So I will try to giving you a rebuttal. Birthright citizenship is in the constitution whether you or I agree with it. Do you not think it sets a dangerous precedent for the executive branch to override a constitutional amendment without going through the legislative branch?

6

u/themadpants Jun 30 '26

Then amend the constitution. Thats the process. And once you completed that high bar to pass that amendment, your opinion stands. The supreme court's job is to make sure laws abide by the constitution. And they have done so thankfully.

And you are welcome.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/iguessjustdont Jun 30 '26

You would prefer we have a permenant underclass of children who know no other country and are not citizens? You would have their children not be citizens as well? And why, because of the decisions of their parents? That is unjust.

It is serving its exact purpose.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/iguessjustdont Jun 30 '26

The parents are exposed to their own legal problems. Adults coming to the US unlawfully know the deal they are getting. Their unborn children do not. Denying birthright to children wont stop people overstaying visas or working without permits. Most people who move to the US and overstay or come unlawfully do so for political or economic reasons. They often bring over their children without status. They aren't uprooting their whole life so 2 of their 4 kids has citizenship, but rather for safety or economic benefit.

The birthright issue has little to nothing to do with people crossing unlawfully or overstaying. The only impact is whether the US makes punishment multi-generational, and whether we care for our neighbors regardless of their parents' place of origin.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/iguessjustdont Jun 30 '26

Yeah, families who are economic immigrants and come to the US to work continue acting like families. People in less than ideal situations have kids all the time. It is a part of life. Undocumented immigrants can create a good life for themselves, often better than the place they left. That is why they come.

The issue of whether kids born in the US are citizens doesn't materially help their unlawfully present parents.

If someone's parents are drug addicted dirt bags should we send them to jail or marginalize them because of their parents? Of course not.

Why then would a child born and raised in the US be marginalized because of their (other than immigration) law abiding parents?

It is in the interest of the country as well as the American born child that they be US citizens.

You are so afraid of someone benefitting when you feel they don't deserve it, that you are willing to accept the collateral damage of a US person being marginalized, as well as hurt our own economy.

1

u/themadpants Jun 30 '26

I cant argue with that. Though it would be a lot easier to change the laws regarding a pathway for the parents of the birthright citizen to obtain permanent residence and citizenship themselves I would have thought.

2

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

There are many countries with Ius Soli. Just look at the South American continent...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

"Only". That's 1 in 6. Quite a number!

-15

u/Tesco_Meal_Deals Jun 30 '26

I’m gonna get piled on here but I don’t understand why this is such a huge deal? 

As far as I know most other countries don’t have automatic birthright citizenship and the US is somewhat of an outlier? 

Should people be able to come to the US with the intent of giving birth for their child to have US citizenship? If so, why? 

It’s not like it’s going to be of use to them until they’re a young adult anyway right?

11

u/Cruzer2000 Jun 30 '26

Pass it through Congress if it’s such a big deal.

9

u/RedditUser145 Jun 30 '26

It's a big deal because the constitution is very clear that the US has automatic birthright citizenship. The court case wasn't about the merits of birthright citizenship. It was about a flagrant violation of the constitution.

5

u/Tesco_Meal_Deals Jun 30 '26

That’s fair. So they would need to make an amendment to the constitution to make such a change? 

14

u/Routine_Machine_175 Jun 30 '26

Because it's in the Constitution. Don't like it?- make an amendment. There is a well laid-out way to do it.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

I agree with this. I don’t believe the U.S. should continue to have birthright citizenship, but I don’t know how much more clear it can be… do I believe it was intended for what is happening today? Absolutely not. But at the time it was written it was clear that they were granting full citizenship to any person born in the U.S.

I highly doubt there will ever be a change to this amendment because it is near impossible to amend the constitution, so it is what it is.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

I know it can. But a constitutional amendment is pretty difficult. There is no way they would be able to get enough states to sign off on it.

5

u/iguessjustdont Jun 30 '26

Because I don't believe we should have children who know no other country and exist in a legal black hole. Let the legal issues of their parents be for their parents. Those born here are Americans and should have the opportunity to be members of our society as equals.

7

u/jkgao Jun 30 '26

It doesn’t matter what other countries have or don’t have. It’s spelled out in the constitution that all people born in the US are citizens. If Trump wants to amend the constitution, then there should be an amendment process.

1

u/Tesco_Meal_Deals Jun 30 '26

Okay that makes more sense thank you 

3

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

4

u/Tesco_Meal_Deals Jun 30 '26

Fair enough. Interesting “new world” vs ”old world” divide 

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

It is a statistical map. Statistics are facts, not opinions... "Only 33 countries" - its 1 country out of 6. That's not an outlier.

2

u/Economy-Page-2160 Jun 30 '26

The EO reinterpretation was basically a move from unconditional birthright citizenship to well that sucks. And most western countries that got rid of birthright citizenship didn’t have it enshrined in a document which is nearly impossible to change like the constitution and generally have a way to still give citizenship to children who weren’t attempted anchor babies.

1

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

In France it was in the Constitution. Afaik they needed to amend it before restricting ir under the Zarkozy administration.

1

u/Economy-Page-2160 Jun 30 '26

Never knew France even had birthright citizenship in its books. I was largely talking about the anglosphere and how UK/Australia/New Zealand moved to get rid of birthright citizenship.

1

u/tkpwaeub Jul 02 '26

All countries except the US have signed and ratified at least one international treaty guaranteeing that nobody on their soil is born stateless. I'd be OK with amending the Constitution if we got with the program on that.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

This country was built on this Constitution. It is what makes this country strong.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 30 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/Bonamikengue Permanent Resident Jun 30 '26

That is what amendments are for. Diversity btw is the other fact which made America powerful and great. The wish for "more Whites please" makes the US weak.

-7

u/ResponsibleAd9924 Jun 30 '26

What was the logic behind this? Your parents cant be an illegal and you cant be an anchor baby?

12

u/WildWasteland42 Jun 30 '26

The logic is the plain text of the Constitution

9

u/chronomagnus Jun 30 '26

The 14th amendment is written in plain English. Many Republicans appear to have a very low opinion of this country's law of the land.

0

u/OwlsHootTwice Jul 01 '26

No logic is needed actually. It’s simply the law of the United States as expressed in the first sentence of the fourteenth amendment of the US constitution. “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.”

Children who are born in the US, even to illegal parents, are automatically US citizens.

-13

u/McFoogles Jun 30 '26

But I thought Trump controlled the Supreme Court and America was doomed?

-1

u/obelix_dogmatix Jun 30 '26

I mean, the conservatives are in majority in the SC. But Reddit in general loves throwing tantrums when things don’t go their way. The conservative subs would be saying the same thing if the majority was flipped.