San Francisco, CA – Today’s decision is a resounding victory for the U.S. Constitution and the enduring promise that anyone born on American soil is a U.S. citizen regardless of their parents’ immigration status. The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, decisively ruled against the administration, finding that Trump’s executive order 14160 violated the 14th Amendment. This ruling applies nationwide.
By rejecting President Trump’s attempt to radically rewrite birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court reaffirmed what generations have understood and what the Constitution plainly guarantees, that is, birthright citizenship is a bedrock principle enshrined in the 14th Amendment. No President has the power to rewrite the Constitution with the stroke of a pen. And the Supreme Court agrees.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is a victory not only for immigrant families, but for the Constitution and for every American. Birthright citizenship has provided a simple, universal rule for more than 150 years: if you are born here, you are a U.S. citizen. Today’s ruling reaffirms the legacy of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, in that, our citizenship cannot be divided by race, ancestry, or the immigration status of one’s parents,” says Annie Lee, Managing Director of Policy, Chinese for Affirmative Action.
More than 128 years after United States v Wong Kim Ark, the Court once again made clear that the 14th Amendment means what it says. “My great grandfather, Wong Kim Ark, never set out to become a symbol. He was one man, only a cook, and yet he stood up for what was right, and I believe that it has made a difference. As a result, he stood up for the rights of all of us Americans – it just so happens that I am related to him. Today’s ruling shows that his victory remains as important now as it was in 1898,” says Norman Wong, descendant of Wong Kim Ark.
This case was never just about legal jurisprudence. It is about the millions of Americans whose citizenship, dignity, and place in this country should never have been called into question. The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution had long settled the question of who belongs in the United States. Today’s ruling sends an unmistakable message: the question of who belongs is not subject to the political whims of Donald Trump, that no administration is above the law, and our multi-racial democracy includes more than just white male Christian Americans.
We celebrate this victory not only because the Court reaffirmed one of America’s most fundamental principles, but because communities across the country stood together to defend a promise that has protected generations of Americans. Today’s ruling is a reaffirmation that the Constitution cannot be rewritten by executive fiat. And we will continue to demand nothing less than the rights and guarantees that belong to every American under our Constitution.
###
Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA) was founded in 1969 to protect the civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian American and Pacific Islander community. We advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial and social injustice. You can learn more about us at caasf.org.