{"id":2586272,"date":"2026-04-01T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T21:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T17:43:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T21:43:33","slug":"if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/","title":{"rendered":"If SCOTUS Upholds &#8216;Birthright Citizenship,&#8217; It Will Do So At Its Peril"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fif-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2586272&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Breccan F. Thies reports on the Supreme Court\u2019s oral arguments in the Trump administration\u2019s challenge to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment, which currently grants citizenship to most people born on U.S. soil. the piece suggests that upholding the current practice would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blue-states-ask-supreme-court-to-reject-trumps-birthright-citizenship-plan-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Blue states ask Supreme Court to reject Trump\u2019s ... plan - Washington Examiner\">preserve birthright citizenship<\/a> as applied but could be seen as a departure from the amendment\u2019s original intent, while a ruling against it could redefine who qualifies and intensify debates over migration policy.Justice Clarence Thomas notes the 14th Amendment\u2019s original aim to secure citizenship for Black people and freed slaves, whereas Solicitor general John Sauer argues immigration was not the amendment\u2019s central concern; Chief Justice John Roberts presses on the issue of birth tourism and weather a \u201cnew world\u201d demands a different constitutional reading. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/economist-rejects-uighur-genocide-determination\/\" title=\"\u2018Economist\u2019 Rejects Uighur Genocide Determination\">article argues<\/a> that a ruling upholding birthright citizenship could <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/did-president-trump-spring-a-trap-on-treasonous-democrats-on-election-night\/\" title=\"Did President Trump Spring a Trap on Treasonous Democrats on Election Night?\">undermine public confidence<\/a> in the Supreme Court\u2019s legitimacy, whereas a decision restricting it would signal a stricter interpretation of national sovereignty. It also frames the issue within broader concerns about \u201canchor babies,\u201d birth tourism, and the political stakes, and closes with a profile of the author, Breccan F.Thies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1lHtFNx2Ocs\">NBC News \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=If%20SCOTUS%20Upholds%20%E2%80%98Birthright%20Citizenship,%E2%80%99%20It%20Will%20Do%20So%20At%20Its%20Own%20Peril&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=If%20SCOTUS%20Upholds%20%E2%80%98Birthright%20Citizenship,%E2%80%99%20It%20Will%20Do%20So%20At%20Its%20Own%20Peril&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=If%20SCOTUS%20Upholds%20%E2%80%98Birthright%20Citizenship,%E2%80%99%20It%20Will%20Do%20So%20At%20Its%20Own%20Peril&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/01\/if-scotus-upholds-birthright-citizenship-it-will-do-so-at-its-own-peril\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday on the Trump administration&rsquo;s challenge to the decades-long practice of interpreting the 14th Amendment to allow foreigners to obtain American citizenship simply by being born within the boundaries of the country. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of this view, allowing any foreigner circumstantially (or intentionally) born on U.S. soil to be automatically adopted into the Union as a citizen, it will mean the end of actual American citizens taking the high court seriously.<\/p>\n<p>As Justice Clarence Thomas pointed out, the purpose of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to black people and freed slaves after the Civil War. Making the point further, Thomas asked, &ldquo;How much of the debates around the 14th Amendment had anything to do with immigration?&rdquo; U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer noted that there was very little, if any, which suggests that the intent of the 14th Amendment was never to be the international migration boondoggle it has become.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-874343590\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>While Thomas appeared to recognize that reality, it was difficult to tell where the rest of the court stood on the issue at times &mdash; except for the other reliable conservative, Justice Samuel Alito.<\/p>\n<p>But if the justices harbor any consideration of keeping the 14th Amendment migration train running by upholding the current bastardization of the amendment, it will signal to the American people the illegitimacy of even the highest legal authority in the land, ostensibly with a 6-3 conservative majority.<\/p>\n<p>A SCOTUS decision to uphold birthright citizenship as currently applied would communicate that it means to follow in the footsteps of successive presidential administrations and Congresses, selling Americans&rsquo; jobs, land, and promises of freedom to the highest bidder, or simply giving them away to foreigners who cross the border illegally. Whereas many view the head of the judicial branch as a safeguard, upholding the Constitution when the executive branch and Congress overstep their bounds, a majority decision affirming unbounded birthright citizenship would suggest they too have no regard for the people who have a right to be here, and whose futures depend on the end of mass migration.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening remarks, Sauer brought up the reality of &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/china\/report\/the-new-face-birth-tourism-chinese-nationals-american-surrogates-and-birthright\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">birth tourism<\/a>,&rdquo; pregnant foreigners coming to the United States in order to give birth on American soil and obtain citizenship with an anchor baby, who is automatically granted full citizenship under the current 14th Amendment framework. The issue is prominent in China, where there are actual businesses &mdash; <a href=\"https:\/\/cbn.com\/news\/us\/china-gaming-us-birthright-citizenship-system-plan-invisible-coup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly more than 1,000<\/a> &mdash; that exist for achieving that goal, as Sauer pointed out.<\/p>\n<p>Sauer&rsquo;s introduction of the issue of birth tourism led to a potentially telling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RYecNCgwSfE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">exchange<\/a> with Chief Justice John Roberts, where Roberts asked about birth tourism&rsquo;s prominence. Sauer cited the high number of such operations, stating,&rdquo; No one knows for sure,&rdquo; adding, &ldquo;We are in a new world now.&rdquo; Roberts seemed to reply flippantly: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a new world, it&rsquo;s the same Constitution.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Roberts has consistently postured himself as the chief justice most intent on preserving the institution of the Supreme Court. He is suspected to have sided with majorities he may not actually agree with, in order to make the ruling more acceptable to the American people (a 6-3 decision is more convincing than a 5-4 decision, as the argument goes).<\/p>\n<p>That is what makes his line of questioning both confusing and concerning, because it suggests he believes the proper constitutional interpretation of the 14th Amendment would continue to allow these birthright farms to send foreigners to the United States so their babies can <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >receive rubber-stamp citizenship<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If the conclusion from the Supreme Court is that any country on earth can lay claim to the American homeland, so long as they send enough people to give birth here, then Americans will have no choice but to reject that notion out of hand. Such a decision would further <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2025\/09\/03\/favorable-views-of-supreme-court-remain-near-historic-low\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">deteriorate<\/a> confidence in the Supreme Court, leading the American people to reject it as a legitimate authority on the Constitution altogether.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/14th-amendment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">14th amendment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/anchor-babies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">anchor babies<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/birthright-citizenship\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Birthright Citizenship<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/civil-war\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Civil War<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Clarence Thomas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dred-scott\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Dred Scott<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-roberts\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Roberts<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/john-sauer\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">John Sauer<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/u-s-supreme-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">U.S. Supreme Court<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court heard the Trump administration\u2019s challenge to the long-standing view that anyone born in the United States automatically becomes a citizen. If the Court narrows birthright citizenship, supporters argue it would realign the rule with the Amendment\u2019s original intent, with Justice Clarence Thomas noting the 14th Amendment was mainly about Black people and emancipation after the Civil War, and Solicitor General John Sauer arguing immigration wasn\u2019t the framers\u2019 focus. The other justices offered unclear signals, though Justice Samuel Alito is identified as another conservative voice. Chief Justice John Roberts pressed on the issue of \u201cbirth tourism,\u201d recalling its prominence and implying the world has changed while the Constitution remains the same, a stance tied to his concern for preserving the Court\u2019s legitimacy. Those who oppose broad birthright citizenship warn that a ruling upholding it could undermine public confidence in the Court and the constitutional order by treating immigration as a function of birthright rather than a matter of law<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2586273,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-150104.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[46489,43482,3813,6994,32275],"class_list":["post-2586272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-birthright-citizenship","tag-constitutional-law","tag-immigration","tag-scotus","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-150104.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2586272"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586272\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2586276,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2586272\/revisions\/2586276"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2586273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2586272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2586272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2586272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}