Pennsylvania salon owner relieved after Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship, a decision that is bringing relief to some immigrant families in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
In a 6-3 ruling, the justices found Trump's executive order violated the 14th Amendment. The order, signed on Jan. 20, 2025, after Trump was sworn into office for a second term, would have denied automatic citizenship to some children born in the United States based on their parents' immigration status.
At Eudanis Dominican Beauty Salon in Upper Darby, owner Eudanis Jose called the decision a victory. She said many of her clients have been living with fear and uncertainty over immigration enforcement.
"The Hispanic community, especially the undocumented, have been hit hard by all that has happened," Jose said.
Jose, who was born in the Dominican Republic and became a U.S. citizen in 2006, said the Supreme Court's ruling was personal.
"My son was born legally because I was a citizen, but if I had been an undocumented immigrant, my son would probably be affected," Jose said.
Immigration advocates welcomed the ruling. Cathryn Miller-Wilson is executive director of HIAS Pennsylvania, a refugee agency that serves about 6,000 clients a year.
"It was frankly a little upsetting that the Supreme Court felt the need to take on the case because it's well settled," Miller-Wilson said.
Immigration attorneys said the close decision shows that even rights that have been recognized for generations can still face legal challenges.
"Today's ruling reaffirms the important principle that no one person, not even the president, has the power to rewrite the Constitution," David Santee, an immigration attorney in Media, said.
But advocates said legal battles over the Trump administration's immigration policies are continuing. Immigration attorneys are now challenging efforts to end Temporary Protected Status for some migrants from Haiti and Syria.
"It's like a hurricane out here for immigrants," Joe Gordon, an immigration attorney in Norristown, said.
