Statement from ADC President Jenin Younes on the Supreme Court’s Birthright Citizenship Decision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 30, 2026

Washington, D.C.

“Today’s decision is a victory for the Constitution of the United States.

The Supreme Court was right to reject President Trump’s attempt to rewrite birthright citizenship by executive order. Since 1868, the 14th Amendment has guaranteed that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” That guarantee was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in United States v. Wong Kim Ark in 1898, and has been respected as precedent for well over a century.

As Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the majority, the Citizenship Clause grants citizenship to children born in the United States who are subject to the power and laws of this country. It does not condition citizenship on a child’s parents’ immigration status. Those terms appear in President Trump’s executive order. They do not appear in the 14th Amendment because they do not decide who belongs under the Constitution.

Justice Roberts explained, “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights,” including the right “to freely participate in our political community.” The Framers of the 14th Amendment rejected narrow definitions of citizenship and extended its protection to “every free-born person in this land.” Today, the Court kept that promise.

No president has the authority to decide that some children born in America are less American because of who their parents are, where they come from, or what immigration status they hold. Citizenship is a constitutional guarantee, not a privilege to be granted or withdrawn by executive order. The 14th Amendment was written in the aftermath of slavery to ensure that no government official could create permanent castes of belonging and exclusion. 

ADC welcomes this decision and will continue to fight any effort to undermine the Constitution of this nation.”

About ADC

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the United States, founded in 1980 by former Senator James Abourezk.  ADC’s mission is to defend and promote the human rights, civil rights, and liberties of at least 3.7 million Arab Americans residing in the United States. Through its work, ADC fights discrimination, enhances public understanding of Arab history and culture, and partners with marginalized communities globally to advance social justice.