Section one of the 14th amendment, written in 1868, states: “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.” This was further reinforced by landmark cases in 1898, the 40’s, 50’s and the 60’s.
Last year, Trump issued an executive order which argued that the original interpretation enshrined the right to citizenship only for formerly enslaved Black people and their descendants.
Trump’s executive order states that babies born to undocumented parents or parents who do not have permanent residency are not and should not be privy to those rights. Any baby born 30 days after the order was subject to a denial of American citizenship. Multiple judges across the country prevented this order from taking effect.
MISSISSIPPI BIRTHRIGHT
Several Court justices appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s arguments.
The Department of Justice argued that easy access into the United States, including potential “birth tourism” efforts from countries including Russia and China, posed a risk for the country.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer said “We're in a new world now,” arguing that “eight billion people are one plane right away from having a child who is a U.S. citizen.”
However, Chief Justice John Roberts responded, “Well, it's a new world. It's the same Constitution.”
Justices also considered Sauer’s interpretations of what it means for a child or a parent to be “lawfully domiciled” in the country. The societal debates around the issue reverberated even in Mississippi.
In Mississippi, immigrants make up only 2.7% of the state’s population, according to the Migration Policy Institute. But, the state hosts the country’s second largest immigration detention center and was also the site of the largest workplace immigration raid in the country’s history.
Antonia Liz Macias is the founder of Brighter Future Community Development. She was born to Mexican immigrants in the U.S. and is the first in her family to go to college, get a Masters degree, own homes and become an entrepreneur.
“I'm blessed to be born in America,” she said, attributing much of her success to her American citizenship.
Macias also sees the value in extending the right to children from varied immigration backgrounds.
“I do believe that a person born in America deserves the right to be a US citizen and to benefit and give back to the country,” she said.
Macias’s husband immigrated from Honduras. They have one daughter together, also an American citizen.
“I feel it doesn't matter if the parents are immigrants, as long as they adopt the American culture and the American belief and tradition. I believe that any child should be given the opportunity to be a U.S. citizen,” she said. “Being an American child going to school is one of the greatest experiences and blessings that any child can have.”
If the Supreme Court overturns the current legal application of the 14th amendment, children now born to parents without documentation or without permanent residency may not be citizens. Macias said even now, immigrants she knows are limited by Medicaid coverage.
“One of my renters, she's a migrant,” Macias said. “She just had a baby and her bills were $80,000 because she had an emergency c-section and they only cover one day.”
Macias said her tenant had to stay in the hospital a total of seven days.
“She has three kids already. The first two were born in Honduras. The third one, she was hoping it was gonna be a U.S. citizen” she said. “But, now she's in limbo. She doesn’t even know if this third one's gonna be a U.S. citizen.”
Although Macias believes this presents potentially tragic outcomes for impacted families, she also supports whatever decision the Supreme Court is expected to make this summer.
“I'm very Americanized. My family has been here for a lot of years, but I feel that a lot migrants did come over here from these third world countries with the Biden administration, and then they were given all these rights and having all these children, and now they're American,” she said. “I mean, if the Supreme Court wants to reserve certain rights for Americans, I feel they have the right to, this is their country, you know, they have the right.”
FOUNDATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM
Some Mississippians believe any challenge to the current interpretation of the 14th amendment constitutes a confusing disruption to a cultural norm.
“I immediately thought that I would lose my citizenship and it was very complex. It had to be researched by me to actually understand what was going on because when I first heard about it, it was very scary,” said Jackson resident Lauren Lewis was born to an African-American parent and a parent who immigrated to the U.S. before being naturalized as a child.
“Thinking about some of my other family members, friends, coworkers, a lot of them don't share the same privilege that I do to have a parent who's been here for so long,” said Lewis. “Technically, it wouldn't affect me as bad as it would others if it were to be passed. It's very jarring to think about this, to basically reverse the Constitution. But crazier things have happened.”
Even if the Supreme Court upholds the current legal interpretation of birthright citizenship, she believes irreparable harm has been done to America’s reputation overseas.
“The 14th Amendment is what was hard-earned by my Black ancestors, and then the Civil Rights Movement actually helped my immigrant ancestors as well,” Lewis said. “All immigrants now benefit from the Civil Rights Movement and the 14th Amendment. It's a foundation of the American dream to be born on American soil.”
LEGAL INTERPRETATION
Attorney Jade Craig, who teaches constitutional law at the University of Mississippi, said the 14th Amendment is one of the three amendments adopted after the Civil War.
“They're known as the Reconstruction Amendments,” he said. “The Civil war ends in 1865. Congress passed and the states ratified the 13th Amendment, which abolishes slavery. After the 14th Amendment, Congress also authorized the 15th Amendment, which prohibits discrimination in voting on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
Craig views the 14th Amendment as a cornerstone amendment that provided a pathway towards full citizenship for formerly enslaved people. He said several other cases involving Asian-Americans further solidified the strength of the historic constitutional addition. But, Craig said this case is different because it was initiated because of an executive order.
“This is one of the few times in which the federal government has attempted to strip people of their citizenship in violation of the 14th Amendment in U.S. History through an executive order,” he said. “It is particularly concerning because you have a very conservative court that has ruled in many cases in favor of the Trump administration's policies, including ones that have just been unprecedented.”
Craig believes an overturn of birthright citizenship could especially impact children not having guaranteed citizenship anywhere else.
“Part of the consequence of this kind of approach is that some children will be rendered stateless,” he said. “They will not have an entitlement to citizenship in the country of their parent's birth or origin based on the citizenship laws of that country. And then, they won't have citizenship in this country. It is an international human right that every person has the right to a nationality. Every person has the right to be under the protection of a state that can defend and protect their rights before the world.”
The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling by early summer. Craig does not expect the Court to strike down the current application of birthright citizenship, citing legal precedent.
