WASHINGTON, DC –Today, in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara to block President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Celina Stewart, chief executive officer for the League of Women Voters, released the following statements:
Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said:
“Today’s decision affirms a principle that should have never been up for debate. The 14th Amendment is crystal clear: if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen of the United States. Full stop. No president has the authority to erase that right to citizenship with the stroke of a pen.
“While we welcome the Court’s rejection of this unconstitutional attempt to dismantle birthright citizenship, we cannot ignore the troubling reality that such a fundamental constitutional guarantee was put at risk in the first place. The fact that several justices endorsed a radical reinterpretation of one of our nation’s clearest constitutional protections underscores how fragile our rights can become when political ideology is allowed to eclipse the rule of law.
“Birthright citizenship is not a partisan issue. It is a constitutional guarantee rooted in the hard-fought promise of equal citizenship following the Civil War. Efforts to undermine it run counter to the very idea that our Constitution protects all people equally under the law. Those efforts, if they had been successful, might have also opened the door for a radical revisionist interpretation of other parts of the Fourteenth Amendment, which for decades have formed the foundation of civil rights jurisprudence.
“The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will continue to stand on the frontlines to safeguard our democracy, and ensure that its promises are more than words on paper. Today’s ruling is an important victory, but our work is far from over. We will remain vigilant against efforts to erode fundamental rights and committed to building a democracy that truly works for everyone and where everyone belongs.”
Celina Stewart, chief executive officer for the League of Women Voters, said:
“Today, the Supreme Court rejected a dangerous and unlawful attempt to undermine one of the clearest guarantees in our Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment is not a suggestion; it is a guarantee, and no president has the power to erase constitutional rights with the stroke of a pen. This ruling prevents a profound democratic crisis, protects millions of families from uncertainty, and reaffirms that no individual—not even the president—is above the Constitution. The League of Women Voters celebrates this decision as a critical victory for the rule of law and a powerful affirmation of the enduring promise of American democracy.”
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