“A child born in Houston is a U.S. citizen,” writes U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia. “Not because Donald Trump allows it. Not because six justices reached the right conclusion. Because the Constitution demands it.”
A child born in Houston has broken no laws.
They should not be punished for decisions their parents made. They should not have to prove their family has been in this country long enough, carries the right papers or comes from the right place.
Under the Fourteenth Amendment, that child is a U.S. citizen. Period.
Article continues below this ad
The Constitution is clear: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and the State wherein they reside.”
Despite those straightforward words, President Trump, on his first day back in office, tried to erase that guarantee with an executive order bearing his gaudy Sharpie signature.
A year and a half later, the conservative-majority Supreme Court stopped him. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that children born here to parents who are undocumented or temporarily present are subject to our nation’s jurisdiction.
“Under the Constitution,” he concluded, “they are citizens at birth.”
Article continues below this ad
The decision came on June 30, the final day of Immigrant Heritage Month, just as our nation prepared to celebrate 250 years since its founding. It was a victory for immigrant families and for the Constitution itself.
On the other hand, we should all be deeply alarmed that our nation reached this point at all. Even more alarming, the High Court’s decision was not unanimous.
The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s order in a 6-3 decision. Just five justices joined the opinion holding that the Constitution itself guarantees citizenship to these children. A sixth, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, agreed Trump’s order was invalid, but only because it violated federal law. He argued the Constitution itself may allow Congress to create exceptions to birthright citizenship in the future. Three justices would have allowed Trump to single-handedly do away with the amendment.
As a former judge, I understand that jurists read and interpret laws differently. But not every question is difficult. Sometimes the text is plain. Sometimes the Constitution means exactly what it says. This is one of those times.
Birthright citizenship should not depend on who occupies the White House, who sits on the Supreme Court or whether a child’s parents have the right immigration status.
Article continues below this ad
The Fourteenth Amendment was written to put citizenship beyond political whim.
After the shame of Dred Scott, which denied citizenship to Black Americans, our nation amended the Constitution so the government could never again create a permanent class of people born here but told they did not belong.
For Latino families, this is not an abstract legal debate.
We all know what it feels like to have our “Americanness” questioned. Families who have lived in Texas for generations can still be treated like strangers in their own country.
Trump tried to make citizenship depend not on where a child was born, but on the immigration status and nationality of that child’s parents.
Article continues below this ad
That is not what our Constitution says.
American citizenship is not a bloodline. It is not about ancestry, heritage or descent. A child born in Houston is no less a U.S. citizen just because their parents were born elsewhere.
This week, I joined Democrats and Republicans in Congress at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where our Constitution was signed, to reflect on what it means 250 years after our country’s founding.
Standing there, I could not help but think about how far our country has come.
There were no women among the delegates who wrote and signed the Constitution. There were no Texans, and certainly no Latinas. Someone like me, a Mexican-American woman raised in a small South Texas farming community, would not have had a seat at that table. Yet 250 years later, there I stood as a member of Congress.
Article continues below this ad
That is part of the American story. Our story.
The Constitution was not perfect when it was signed. Its endurance comes from the generations who expanded its promise and fought to make our country more equal. The Fourteenth Amendment is a critical part of that progress.
We should celebrate the Supreme Court’s protection of that promise. Our institutions matter, and in this case, the Court stopped a wannabe king who tried to place himself above the Constitution.
But celebration cannot become complacency.
The fact that only five justices agreed that the Constitution protects these children should alarm everyone who believes its words still mean something.
At 250, we should not be reopening settled questions about which children are worthy of belonging.
A child born in Houston is a U.S. citizen. Not because Donald Trump allows it. Not because six justices reached the right conclusion. Because the Constitution demands it.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Houston Democrat, represents Texas’ 29th District.
