Open Society Statement on the Supreme Court Decision on Birthright Citizenship

NEW YORK-The Open Society Foundations welcome the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Barbara, which blocked the administration's efforts to rewrite the constitution by restricting birthright citizenship via Executive Order 14160. This right was enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868, reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in 1898, and has been recognized as law for over 150 years. The decision preserving the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship for all Americans is one of the most consequential civil rights rulings in decades.

The Open Society Foundations applaud our partners who worked long and hard to secure this landmark victory in the United States' highest court, including especially the lead litigants: American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Asian Law Caucus, Democracy Defenders Fund, and NAACP Legal Defense Fund. This decision provides an important victory alongside other setbacks during this Supreme Court term that stripped away rights, impacting hundreds of thousands of people. Acknowledging that, the Open Society Foundations will continue to support those working to safeguard civil rights, strengthen democratic institutions, and expand freedom and opportunity for all.

"We heartily welcome the decision reaffirming the fundamental promise of the Fourteenth Amendment: that citizenship under our Constitution cannot be stripped away by fiat or political whim," said Laleh Ispahani, managing director of the U.S. for the Open Society Foundations. "This should have been a unanimous decision based on the text of the Constitution, but it was not. Still, the 6-3 decision reassures families across the country who feared that the administration's executive order would deny them rights guaranteed by the Constitution for 158 years. We are especially grateful to our civil society partners who worked tirelessly to defend this guarantee through litigation, advocacy, and public education. Their leadership helped protect one of the bedrock principles of our democracy."

"This decision is one of the ACLU's most consequential case in 100 years," said Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, herself a birthright citizen as the daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, who has spent over two decades at the ACLU challenging erosions of immigrant rights. "It reaffirms one of the fundamental pillars of American life-that all of us who are born on American soil are citizens alike. It is a day of celebration for everyone affected and that means all Americans."

"The Court affirmed what we have always known: if you are born here, you are an American," said Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus. "This question is closed, not paused. Birthright citizenship is settled. It will remain settled."

President Trump's attempt to warp the plain meaning of the Constitution to strip away the rights of United States citizens born to immigrants is one of the most shameless actions by a presidential administration in the 250-year history of the United States. Thankfully, the Court did not allow that attempt to succeed, recognizing that the language of the Fourteenth Amendment was clear when it stated that "[a]ll persons born….in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

In addition to this decision, this Supreme Court term provided important victories for the rule of law such as Trump v. Cook and Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump as well as significant losses that eliminated due process for immigrants, including through the Mullin v. Al Otro Lado and Mullin v. Doe decisions. The court also restricted the rights of transgender individuals through the West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox decisions and expanded the president's unchecked power through the Trump v. Slaughter decision, which overturned a nearly 100-year precedent protecting the independence of some federal agencies from the president.

The Open Society Foundations will continue to support efforts to defend civil liberties, stand up for the rule of law and the rights enshrined in the Constitution, and ensure that the United States lives up to its ideals and remains an inclusive open society.