Jackson Accuses Thomas of Reviving Dred Scott in 14th Amendment Birthright Citizenship Fight
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 30
Jackson Accuses Thomas of Reviving Dred Scott in 14th Amendment Birthright Citizenship Fight
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 30
Summary
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said Clarence Thomas’s dissent would revive a core tenet of the 1857 Dred Scott ruling by denying citizenship to some people born on U.S. soil.
In her concurrence, Jackson said the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause was meant to cover all U.S.-born people, including children of undocumented immigrants, and called Thomas’s narrower reading "myopic."
Thomas argued the amendment was ratified to secure citizenship for freed slaves and requires both U.S. birth and "domicile," excluding children of foreign temporary visitors who retain allegiance to another country.
The clash came after the Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, turning the case into a broader fight over the Reconstruction Amendments’ scope.
Why do originalist justices fiercely disagree on the 150-year-old meaning of citizenship in the Fourteenth Amendment?
How does America’s citizenship rule compare to the rest of the world after this landmark Supreme Court decision?
With the executive path blocked, what tools remain for addressing immigration concerns related to 'birth tourism'?
Supreme Court Reaffirms Birthright Citizenship: Strikes Down Trump Executive Order in Landmark 2026 Ruling
Overview
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court delivered a landmark ruling in Trump v. Barbara, striking down an executive order that tried to change birthright citizenship. The Court reaffirmed that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, upholding a core constitutional promise. This decision, reached after careful consideration of the 14th Amendment, was celebrated by civil liberties groups and immigrant advocates as a major victory. The ruling made clear that a president cannot change the Constitution alone, reinforcing the long-standing legal tradition that protects birthright citizenship for all born on U.S. soil.