Birthright Citizenship: A Constitutional Guarantee Under Assault
Following the Civil War, in 1868 the 14th Amendment was adopted, guaranteeing that “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 amendment explicitly overturned the infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision that held that enslaved people were not citizens. Though the amendment was part of a series of Reconstruction Era amendments designed to protect the civil and legal rights of formerly enslaved people, and Black Americans more broadly, the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment has been an instrumental tool for protecting the rights of minority communities ever since, including immigrants.
Indeed, just two decades after its passage, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, that affirmed the citizenship of a Won Kim Ark, who was born to Chinese parents in San Francisco (see slide 49 of our Citizenship Timeline to learn more). This 1898 decision has been the settled law in the United States for over 125 years, demonstrating the inviolability of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of birthright citizenship. Notwithstanding the law, Trump signed an executive order on the first day of his second term, attempting to end birthright citizenship. Numerous organizations filed suit challenging the blatantly unconstitutional executive order, and the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on April 1st.
In this webinar, litigants and advocates working on this tremendously consequential issue will provide an update on their work and the oral arguments, as well as identify the critical litigation, narrative, and public education strategies that will need resourcing in the months ahead.
Speakers
Karina Ambartsoumian-Clough, Executive Director, United Stateless
Mide Odunsi, Equal Justice Works Fellow, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Francisca Fajana, Director of Racial Justice Strategy, LatinoJustice
Aarti Kohli, Executive Director, Asian Law Caucus
Moderator
Vivian Tseng, President and CEO, Foundation for Child Development
Cost: Free for Funders
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This program is offered in partnership with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR).