Immigration and civil rights advocates in Chicago decried a Supreme Court ruling that individual judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions, a decision that left the fate of birthright citizenship uncertain.
The outcome was a victory for President Donald Trump, who has complained about individual judges throwing up obstacles to his agenda.
But a conservative majority left open the possibility that the birthright citizenship changes could remain blocked nationwide. Trump’s order would deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of people who are in the country without legal status.
Birthright citizenship automatically makes anyone born in the United States an American citizen, including children born to mothers in the country illegally. The right was enshrined soon after the Civil War in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
In a notable Supreme Court decision from 1898, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the court held that the only children who did not automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon being born on U.S. soil were the children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the U.S. during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.
Ed Yohnka, of the ACLU of Illinois, described Friday’s ruling as cruel and detrimental, adding that it opens the door for a circumstance in which people born in some parts of the country will have U.S. citizenship while others won’t be recognized as American citizens.
“Your fundamental rights, under the U.S. constitution, should not depend on whether or not there is an advocate who can bring a lawsuit in Massachusetts versus bringing a lawsuit in Louisiana versus bringing a lawsuit in Idaho or Illinois,” Yohnka said.
Tovia Siegel, of the Chicago-based Resurrection Project, said Friday’s ruling will create even more instability for families with mixed immigration statuses. She often hears from immigrant parents who worry about the future of their children.
“I hear it over and over again — that if they send me back, what will happen to my children,” Siegel said. “What will happen to my children who are born in the United States who have only ever lived in the United States? And I can only imagine the fear that people are now feeling.”
If Trump’s order goes into effect, children of Venezuelan immigrants in particular will be left in a precarious state and could be rendered stateless, said Ana Gil Garcia, the co-founder of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance. There isn’t a Venezuelan consulate in the U.S. and it’s unclear how children would be able to access that form of citizenship if they are denied American citizenship.
“That’s a defenseless child who won’t have the possibility of a secure future, without options to access education, to healthcare and other benefits that come with birthright citizenship from this country,” she said.
The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.
The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, a phrase used in the amendment, and therefore are not entitled to citizenship.
But states, immigrants and rights groups that have sued to block the executive order have accused the administration of trying to unsettle the broader understanding of birthright citizenship that has been accepted since the amendment’s adoption.
But states immigrants and rights groups that have sued to block the executive order have accused the administration of trying to unsettle the broader understanding of birthright citizenship that has been accepted since the amendment’s adoption.
In a statement, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the state will continue its challenge of Trump’s executive order and remained optimistic despite the court’s ruling. He added that the issue is personal for him because of his own birthright citizenship.
“Even after today’s decision, birthright citizenship – a rule that has governed our country since the end of the Civil War – remains the law in Illinois,” Raoul said in a statement. “President Trump’s attempt to strip American babies of citizenship is a flagrantly unconstitutional move that disregards the 14th Amendment and the principle of separation of powers upon which our government was founded.”
Friday’s ruling also means it will be harder to get nationwide injunction relief, which could have stopped an executive order from being enforced pending litigation, in future challenges.
In just the first five months of Trump’s presidency, the ACLU has legally challenged about 60 of his executive orders, and the civil rights organization has gotten some form of injunction relief in about half of the cases, Yohnka said.
“We’ll have to be even more thoughtful and more strategic about bringing cases in terms of whether or not we are going to have to bring duplicative actions in a variety of different locations around the country,” Yohnka said.
He said advocates and attorneys will be working to prevent Trump’s order on birthright citizenship from going into effect in any part of the country in the next 30 days, which was the window of time the Supreme Court gave before the policy could be enforced.
The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights said in a statement they were in support of organizations pursuing legal action against Trump’s order.
“We expect further court challenges to the Administration’s executive order and ultimately a definitive ruling from the Supreme Court that upholds the Constitution and closes the Pandora’s box that they opened today,” said Lawrence Benito, the coalition’s executive director.