Clarence Thomas Torches SCOTUS Decision On Birthright Citizenship

Justice Clarence Thomas torched the Supreme Court’s ruling on Tuesday that birthright citizenship should apply to the children of illegal immigrants and people living temporarily in the United States. 

Thomas said that he did not believe the decision would hold up to the test of time and argued that it devalued American citizenship. The case revolved around an executive order issued by President Donald Trump which argued that the 14th Amendment does not confer citizenship on the children of illegal immigrants or those temporarily in the United States. 

“The court today takes the extraordinary step of holding facially unconstitutional the President’s Order excluding from citizenship the children of foreign temporary visitors and illegal aliens,” Thomas wrote in a dissent. “In doing so, the court adds to the sad history of the Fourteenth Amendment, which was designed and understood to secure equal rights for the freed blacks but has instead been repurposed for political projects that the Reconstruction Congress did not support.”

Thomas argued that the 14th Amendment was designed to apply to freed slaves and their children, who owed no allegiances to foreign countries. 

“The same could not be said for the children of foreign temporary visitors. Foreign temporary visitors were attached to their home country, lacked similar bonds to this country, and would not be called upon in time of war. Americans, consistent with their settler ethos, believed that citizens were the people who called a place home,” he said. 

“I am not sure that today’s opinion will stand the test of time. The Citizenship Clause ‘added greatly to the dignity and glory of American citizenship,’” Thomas added. “Today’s opinion devalues that citizenship.”

In a separate dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said he thought the court made a “serious mistake.” 

“As interpreted by the court today, the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on virtually everyone who happens to be born in this country, including the children of ‘birth tourists,’ women who come here solely for the purpose of giving birth to a child and then promptly return home,” Alito wrote. “Careful analysis of the text of the Fourteenth Amendment and the process that led to its adoption shows that it does not degrade the concept of United States citizenship in this way. Instead, the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on only those children who, at birth, owe allegiance solely to this country.”

Alito added that the court’s ruling would keep a key incentive for illegal immigration in place. 

“The court’s interpretation preserves a powerful incentive to enter or remain in this country illegally. Immigrants naturally prefer affluent countries where economic opportunities are available,” he said. “Other than Canada, the United States will be the only affluent nation where birth alone is enough to establish citizenship.”

Justice Neil Gorsuch concurred with Thomas and added his own dissenting opinion.