‘Kids born in America are American:’ Nevada officials react to birthright citizenship ruling

Democratic Nevada officials celebrated a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Tuesday that affirmed birthright citizenship rights, while President Donald Trump pushed for Congress to instead pass legislation to end the practice.

In a 6-3 vote, the higher court struck down a Trump executive order that called for the end of birthright citizenship for children born to parents unlawfully present in the country.

The order was issued on the first day of Trump’s second term, but never took effect as it was quickly challenged in court by plaintiffs arguing that the policy violated the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.

Trump said that the court ruling was bad for the U.S. and urged Congress to settle the issue.

“No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship.”

The White House referred to Trump’s post when asked for additional comment.

Public opinion of birthright citizenship split on partisan lines in a recent Reuters-Ipsos poll, with 72 percent of Democrats polled opposed to ending birthright citizenship while 61 percent of Republicans polled supported ending it. Overall, 55 percent of those polled opposed ending birthright citizenship with 41 percent supporting its elimination.

‘Defending citizenship is about defending the Constitution’

Nevada’s congressional Democrats reacted positively to the ruling.

“Kids born in America are American, period,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen in a recorded video. “And so no one is above the law, including Donald Trump. And I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to protect Americans’ constitutional rights.”

The rest of the delegation issued statements.

“There is no question — birthright citizenship has been and will continue to be a part of our Constitution,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said. “It’s past time for the attacks on our nation’s core ideals to end.”

Rep. Dina Titus said that the ruling offers relief to Nevadans born to immigrant parents.

“The Trump administration’s attack on the these citizens was not only unconstitutional, it was an assault on our core value that we are a nation for all,” she said.

Rep. Steven Horsford said that the debate was settled more than a century ago.

Birthright citizenship dates back to the 1898 ruling in Wong Kim Ark, which held that the U.S.-born child of Chinese nationals was a citizen.

“Defending citizenship is about defending the Constitution itself and ensuring that every American’s fundamental rights are protected,” Horsford said.

Added Rep. Susie Lee: “Birthright citizenship will continue to be the law of the land. Attacks on our Constitution and country’s foundational principles must end.”

Attorney General Aaron Ford called the ruling a win for the rule of law and Nevada families.

“It reaffirms the established legal precedent that children born in the United States are citizens of our great nation and confirms that the laws of our nation cannot be usurped by a presidential whim,” he said in a statement.

The offices of Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., and Gov. Joe Lombardo did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

‘No allegiance required’

In overturning Trump’s executive order, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, both conservative, joined the three liberal justices.

While he voted with the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh disagreed that the order violated the 14th Amendment. He pointed to a federal statute that affirms birthright citizenship.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito described the ruling as one of the most important decisions in the court’s history and a serious mistake.

“As interpreted by the Court today, the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on virtually everyone who happens to be born in the country, including the children of ‘birth tourists,’ women who come here solely for the purpose of giving birth to a child and then promptly returning home,” he wrote.

Chuck Muth, a conservative blogger in Nevada, agreed with Alito’s point.

He argued that birthright citizenship of children born to undocumented parents was one of the biggest scams in American immigration policy.

“Even with President Trump’s executive order trying to shut the door, the justices ruled that kids born here to parents who are here illegally still get automatic citizenship,” Muth wrote. “No questions asked. No allegiance required. Just show up, have the baby, and walk away with a U.S. passport for your child.”

Shortly after the ruling, immigration advocates in Las Vegas held a press conference in which they expressed cautious optimism that the court had shut down one of Trump’s immigration policy proposals.

The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the executive order in court.

“There should be no question because the language of the 14th Amendment is clear as day,” said ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah.

“On this specific decision, though, it does put to bed and put to rest this notion that the president, by way of executive order, can simply do away with the Constitution,” he added, “and for communities that are worried not only about whether or not their kids are going to be considered U.S citizens, but whether or not the administration can simply continue to engage in executive orders and issue executive orders to undermine key constitutional provisions, the decision says that they can’t.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.