Maryland immigrant advocacy groups celebrate SCOTUS ruling to uphold birthright citizenship

Nonprofits supporting Maryland's immigrant communities are calling the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship for all a big win.

One of the organizations, We Are CASA, was one of the first to legally challenge President Trump's executive order last year.

In the case of Trump v. Barbara, the Supreme Court found Trump's executive order to be unlawful in a 6-3 decision.

Several other Maryland elected leaders have voiced their support in the decision, saying it reaffirms what is plainly written in the Constitution.

However, amid the celebration, there are still hints of concern over the Trump administration's immigration agenda.

"Celebrating the people's fight"

Hours after six Supreme Court justices ruled to keep birthright citizenship as it is, We Are CASA gathered a crowd outside of the court to celebrate.

In that crowd was 13-year-old Mia, a We Are CASA volunteer from Maryland. If President Trump's executive order were in effect when she was born, she wouldn't have been a citizen.

She said the court's decision shows her family deserves to stay together.

"As a U.S. citizen child, I should not have to worry if my parents will not come back home," Mia said. "Since this president took office, I have even had to wonder if I would come home. Pregnant mothers are afraid of their babies not being able to have a home. Our families are worth fighting for."

President Trump moved to deny birthright citizenship to anyone born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily. It was among the executive orders Trump signed on his first day back in office.

The executive order faced almost immediate legal backlash, including from We Are CASA. Two days after it was signed, the nonprofit filed a lawsuit on behalf of pregnant women who worried for their children's citizenship.

While the case didn't end up being the one Supreme Court justices ruled on to uphold birthright citizenship, We Are CASA still celebrated the women's bravery alongside the court's decision.

"We are celebrating the people's fight," said Lydia Walther-Rodrigues, We Are CASA's chief of organizing and leadership. "The undocumented women with the spirits of the ancestors of the women who came before them in this country and fought and risked their unborn children to sue the Trump administration to bring about this victory."

Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, the president and CEO of Global Refuge, a Baltimore nonprofits that helps refugees, asylum seekers and migrants, said this decision is a big weight off of her client's shoulders.

"[They've had] worries around what they have done in this country, how they had established life for their children, and the fear all fo that would be upended," Vignarajah said.

Despite all the celebration, many still had concerns for Trump's immigration agenda continuing, especially since the Supreme Court cleared the way to remove temporary protected status for those from Haiti and Syria just last week.

"No court decision changes my family's value as people or how much our communities matter," Mia said.

Elected leaders react

Several Maryland's leaders applauded the Supreme Court's decision on Tuesday.

Gov. Wes Moore said the decision upholds the promise that every child born here belongs here.

"This decision is a welcome relief to the immigrant communities across Maryland who have faced relentless attacks from this federal administration over the past two years," Moore said. "The White House does not get to pick and choose who has the right to be an American."

Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Attorney General Anthony Brown said the decision reaffirms the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

President Trump posted on Truth Social, urging Congress to start the work to end birthright citizenship.

"The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the Preisdent," Trump wrote.

The House Freedom Caucus, which Maryland U.S. Rep. Andy Harris is a member of, also posted on social media calling for the end of birthright citizenship.