U.S. Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Apr 1, 2026 · 2 hr 8 min · 11 segments
A case in which the Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause guarantees U.S. citizenship at birth to every person born on American soil, including children whose parents are…
John SauerGuestRespondent's CounselGuest
Ketanji Brown JacksonGuest
Samuel AlitoGuest
Amy Coney BarrettGuest
Brett KavanaughGuest
Sonia SotomayorGuest
Neil GorsuchGuest
Elena KaganGuest
Clarence ThomasGuest
John RobertsHost
Chief Justice, and may it please the Court, the Citizenship Clause was adopted just after the Civil War to grant citizenship to the newly freed slaves and their children whose allegiance to the United States had been established by generations of domicile here.
It did not grant citizenship to the children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens who have no such allegiance.
When Congress used the term not subject to any foreign power in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, it rejected the British conception of allegiance.
Senator Trumbull explained that subject to the jurisdiction thereof in the clause means not owing allegiance to anybody else.
And in 1884, this court recognized that subject to the jurisdiction means owing direct and immediate allegiance.
The clause thus does not extend citizenship to the children of temporary visa holders or illegal aliens.
Unlike the newly freed slaves, those visitors lack direct and immediate allegiance to the United States.
For aliens, lawful domicile is the status that creates the requisite allegiance, and the text of the clause presupposes domicile.
For decades following the clause's adoption, commentators recognized that the children of temporary visitors are not citizens.
Unrestricted birthright citizenship contradicts the practice of the overwhelming majority of modern nations.
It operates as a powerful pull factor for illegal immigration and rewards illegal aliens who not only violate the immigration laws but also jump in front of those who follow the rules.
It has spawned a sprawling industry of birth tourism as uncounted thousands of foreigners from potentially hostile nations have flocked to give birth in the United States in recent decades, creating a whole generation of American citizens abroad with no meaningful ties to the United States.
Chief Justice, and may it please the Court, the Citizenship Clause was adopted just after the Civil War to grant citizenship to the newly freed slaves and their children whose allegiance to the United States had been established by generations of domicile here.
It did not grant citizenship to the children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens who have no such allegiance.
When Congress used the term not subject to any foreign power in the Civil Rights Act of 1866, it rejected the British conception of allegiance.
Senator Trumbull explained that subject to the jurisdiction thereof in the clause means not owing allegiance to anybody else.
And in 1884, this court recognized that subject to the jurisdiction means owing direct and immediate allegiance.
The clause thus does not extend citizenship to the children of temporary visa holders or illegal aliens.
Unlike the newly freed slaves, those visitors lack direct and immediate allegiance to the United States.
For aliens, lawful domicile is the status that creates the requisite allegiance, and the text of the clause presupposes domicile.
For decades following the clause's adoption, commentators recognized that the children of temporary visitors are not citizens.
Unrestricted birthright citizenship contradicts the practice of the overwhelming majority of modern nations.
It operates as a powerful pull factor for illegal immigration and rewards illegal aliens who not only violate the immigration laws but also jump in front of those who follow the rules.
It has spawned a sprawling industry of birth tourism as uncounted thousands of foreigners from potentially hostile nations have flocked to give birth in the United States in recent decades, creating a whole generation of American citizens abroad with no meaningful ties to the United States.
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