The head of the Heritage Foundation, Kevin Roberts, on Tuesday denounced the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship as a profound betrayal of the American public, escalating a political battle over immigration and national identity.
In a post on the social platform X, Roberts wrote that the justices in the majority had inflamed an assault on U.S. sovereignty and cheapened the value of citizenship. He argued that universal birthright citizenship erases any uniquely American birthright and was never the intent of the 14th Amendment. Roberts called on Congress to pursue a constitutional amendment to correct what he termed a gross injustice.
The court ruled 6-3 that President Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship was unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the three liberal justices and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, wrote that the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to children born in the United States, even those whose parents are in the country unlawfully. Justice Brett Kavanaugh disagreed with the majority's reasoning but voted to block Trump's order under the Nationality Act of 1940.
Conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch sided with the president. In his dissent, Alito said the court had made a serious mistake. Zach Smith, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, echoed Alito, asserting that the court ignored evidence that the 14th Amendment's 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof' language limits automatic citizenship to children of U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Trump's executive order, signed on his first day back in office, argued that the 14th Amendment has always excluded those not subject to U.S. jurisdiction. It would have required at least one parent to be a citizen or permanent legal resident for a child born on U.S. soil to gain birthright citizenship. The president called the ruling 'too bad' but said Congress could easily pass legislation on the matter. In a Truth Social post, Trump urged lawmakers to start working immediately on ending birthright citizenship without a lengthy constitutional amendment.
Multiple GOP lawmakers have since backed legislative changes to birthright citizenship, setting the stage for a renewed fight in Congress. The Heritage Foundation's sharp criticism underscores the deep ideological divide over immigration policy and constitutional interpretation.
For more on the political fallout, see Trump's legislative push after the ruling. Justice Thomas also issued a separate warning about devalued citizenship in his blistering opinion.
