“President Trump signed an executive order that was designed to prevent children born to immigrants in the country without long-term legal status from automatically becoming citizens.”
Carrie Johnson
1:03The Supreme Court takes up what may be its most consequential case of the term: whether Trump's executive order ending automatic birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and visa holders is constitutional — a direct challenge to the 14th Amendment's plain text that has stood as settled law since 1898. The Justice Department's novel argument hinges on "allegiance," claiming temporary residents lack the loyalty required for their children to qualify as citizens, while challengers warn that cracking open the 14th Amendment could destabilize the civil rights protections built on top of it for over a century. For professionals tracking law, policy, or demographic trends, this episode delivers the sharpest pre-argument breakdown available — covering the legal stakes, the political calculus behind Trump's push, and why a ruling here could signal how far this Court is willing to go in rewriting what it means to be American.
Ashley Lopez welcomes listeners to the NPR Politics Podcast and introduces co-hosts Carrie Johnson and Domenico Montanaro.
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