Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle weighed in after the United States Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship on Tuesday.
In a 6-3 ruling, the nation’s highest court ruled that birthright citizenship remains protected under the United States Constitution, rejecting President Donald Trump's attempt to restrict it through executive order. The court’s majority held that the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to nearly everyone born in the country, regardless of whether their parents are illegal immigrants or are in the country on temporary visas.
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) praised the decision, sharing on social media that her own mother crossed the United States border while pregnant with her and praising her legal status.
“Today and always, I am the proud, defiant daughter of Maria Elvira Ramirez Guerra, a Guatemalan immigrant who crossed the border pregnant with me,”
Ramirez wrote on X. “And regardless of what some of my colleagues might call me, I am a citizen by birthright and an AMERICAN!”
In his push to end birthright citizenship, Trump has condemned the practice of traveling to another country solely for the purpose of giving birth there, a practice known as birth tourism. Following the decision, the Department of Justice
issued a statement saying that birth tourism schemes exploit the nation's immigration laws and often violate criminal laws.
Tuesday's ruling reaffirmed the court's longstanding interpretation of the Citizenship Clause, relying on its landmark 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that nearly all children born on United States soil are citizens by birth.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) argued the notion is straightforward.
“Even Trump’s hand-picked Supreme Court knows that birthright citizenship is guaranteed by the Constitution,"
Warren wrote on X. "The fight to defend immigrant rights from Trump's cruelty is not over, but today the Court upheld the law. It's simple: if you're born in America, you're an American.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he had anticipated the court's ruling and noted that it was the reason he introduced a constitutional amendment earlier this year. Paul said real change must happen through the amendment process.
“Months before the Supreme Court ever ruled, I had a feeling exactly this would happen," Paul
wrote on X. "An executive order was never going to be strong enough to permanently fix birthright citizenship, no matter how good the intentions behind it were. That's why I filed a constitutional amendment early this year instead of waiting around to see how the courts would rule.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) stressed there should only be two pathways to citizenship—under the 14th Amendment and through naturalization.
Graham
wrote on X that he has been pushing for a constitutional amendment for years and pointed out that the United States is one of the few countries that grants birthright citizenship regardless of a child's parents' legal status.
Trump, however, suggested that legislation should be pushed through Congress instead.
“No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship,”
Trump wrote on Truth Social.Tuesday marked the final day of rulings for the Supreme Court's current term, which began in October.
Reuters contributed to this report.
