ICNY Statement in Support of Birthright Citizenship

As we approach the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Interfaith Center of New York welcomes the US Supreme Court decision affirming that every child born in the United States—with narrow exceptions—is a citizen entitled to the full rights and protections of the US Constitution. As one of 57 faith-based organizations that signed onto a Faith-Based Amicus Brief in Support of the Respondents Trump v. Barbara arguing birthright citizenship protects religious freedom and supports a shared faith principle of hospitality, we welcome this decision. In the words of the Legal Aid Society, “At a time when immigrant communities continue to face mounting legal challenges, today’s ruling serves as an important reminder of the enduring strength of these protections.”  

The Supreme Court’s decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, included references to the “odious” Dred Scott decision of 1857 and its use of race as a grounds for denying American citizenship. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Roberts quotes Frederick Douglass, “The Constitution knows all the human inhabitants of this country as ‘the people,’” no matter their “color, class, or clime. . . .”

In our view, the Court’s reaffirmation of the 14th Amendment as a direct rebuke to Dred Scott correctly calls into question the current administration’s racialized immigration policy and enforcement. We fervently hope the Court’s decision will call all Americans back to our moral foundation as a nation of immigrants. We are thankful, as Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in their concurring opinion, that a majority of the Court “has dutifully preserved the most basic animating principle of our Nation’s founding—that all human beings are created equal—once more.”

Sincerely,