Supreme Court's birthright citizenship ruling "huge sigh of relief," Massachusetts ACLU director says
Massachusetts immigration experts say they are breathing a "sigh of relief" following the Supreme Court's decision on birthright citizenship.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 decision to uphold birthright citizenship: meaning, anyone born in this country is a U.S. citizen regardless of their parents' immigration status.
The decision reads, in part, "Held: Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present...are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause."
Immigration attorney on birthright citizenship
"I'm relieved with the decision, but I'm also cautious that it wasn't a unanimous decision," said Boston immigration attorney Annelise Araujo.
Araujo cautioned that given the language of the 14th Amendment, she expected a unanimous decision, but Justice Clarence Thomas's extensive dissent gave her pause.
"It's scary," she said. "Because I think it says to me that nothing is off limits."
Massachusetts ACLU director reacts
There is a major local tie. Lawyers from the ACLU of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and Maine, as well as other local advocacy organizations, brought this lawsuit on behalf of anonymous New Hampshire plaintiffs, "a class of people who were in this country, and who were expecting to have children, and who wanted to make sure that their children would have the same constitutional rights as the… as all of us have, who were born in this country."
Of many lawsuits nationwide, "this happened to be the case that made it all the way to the Supreme Court, and we're so glad that it did because it was so important," ACLU of Massachusetts director Carol Rose told WBZ-TV.
Gov. Maura Healey also praised the decision, writing in a statement in part, "President Trump can't rewrite the Constitution. I'm grateful to Attorney General Campbell and her colleagues for standing up for our communities."
The decision could impact more than just those with birthright citizenship, Araujo explained.
"Individuals who are not lawful permanent residents and who maybe entered the country without inspection, but have been here for 10 years and are good people, they can apply for cancellation of removal but they have to have a qualifying relative – for example, a U.S. citizen child," she said.
President Trump criticized the decision, writing on Truth Social, "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 President, that has now been determined during this process. No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support! President DONALD J. TRUMP."
