FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 30, 2026

Contact: Pablo DeJesús | info@uusj.org

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Supreme Court Reaffirms Birthright Citizenship

Justices preserve Fourteenth Amendment by a less-than-comfortable margin.

Washington, DC – On June 30, in a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a Trump administration executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to foreign nationals, citing a violation of the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, in the case Trump v. Barbara.

The majority, led by Chief Justice Roberts, affirmed that such children are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and are citizens at birth, preventing the executive order from altering future voting demographics and legal standing. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas filed dissenting opinions.

In response, Pablo DeJesús, Executive Director of Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, said:

We join many in celebrating this Supreme Court ruling, with a sobering mixture of relief and consternation. 

This urgently needed decision reaffirms settled precedent that the Constitution — not the governing regime in the person of the President — defines who is, and gets to be, a citizen. Though a 6-3 ruling is too close for comfort, given that birthright citizenship has long been considered a settled matter in jurisprudence. 

We cannot help but remember that this decision is set against the backdrop of multiple worrisome rulings. In this term, the Roberts Court has damaged our republic in profoundly dangerous ways. It has undermined the Voting Rights Act, fertilized fierce partisan gerrymandering, diminished federal agency independence plus the merit-based civil service, and eviscerated protections for immigrants. 

This one, almost skin-of-the-teeth, ruling does not make up for all the damage the conservative majority has wrought this court term. 

Lest we forget, on this same day, in another 6-3 decision, they held that state laws excluding transgender girls and women from female school sports teams do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment or Title IX. Sad, tragic, and disturbing—but true to form for the Roberts Court.

Yet, we are joyful along with the millions of Americans who believe in the promise of the 14th Amendment. 

We do appreciate confirmation of what was settled in law, true in practice and just for society. If a person is born in the U.S., they are a citizen. They have the rights and privileges afforded under the Constitution, our republic’s covenant. They can begin their life journey under the cloak of full belonging and discover what that will mean as lived experience, with all the trials, tribulations, victories, and celebrations that may entail.

With this decision, we hope the Roberts Court has closed the door on this President’s efforts to undermine the 14th Amendment. 

As Unitarian Universalists, we invoke the Spirit of LIFE, the Spirit of LOVE; we hope that the door is firmly shut once again, and that our generation has succeeded in preserving the fabric of this nation. Babies and families across our nation will be spared from further chaos, cruelty, and othering into statelessness and second-class status. Happily, the Supreme Court has shied away from deepening our American proclivities for de facto caste systems.

We do cherish this positive outcome amid the onslaught of so many negative rulings. We believe the Spirit of JUSTICE moved among the six in the majority. We wonder at the cognitive contortions of the three in the minority and dread what that legal logic bodes for future cases.

We therefore reaffirm our commitment to advocate for democracy, human dignity, and justice grounded in love.

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Established in 1999, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice is a network of Unitarian Universalist individuals and congregations that lifts up the light of reason, the warmth of community, and the flame of hope to advance equitable national policies and actions aligned with UU values through witness, education, and advocacy. We envision a just, compassionate, and sustainable world community. 

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