Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas offered this opportunity for Solicitor General John Sauer to explain how the 14th Amendment acted as a correction to questions created by the 1857 Dred Scott decision,

The Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was ratified after the Civil War in order to cement citizenship and legal protections for Black people in the U.S. after slavery was abolished. What lawmakers intended it to do for immigrants is one central debate in the birthright citizenship case.

The 14th Amendment of 1868 grants citizenship to all people born or naturalized in this country– including those previously enslaved. So with the Citizenship Clause on the line now, Johnson warned that Trump’s attack could impact the rights of Black descendants of slavery.

“President Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship is a violation of the 14th Amendment,” writes Deborah N. Archer.

Professors Akhil and Vikram Amar have responded to my recent post arguing that the 14th Amendment does not grant automatic citizenship to the children of temporary visitors to the United […]