Washington Examiner Supreme Court reporter Jack Birle argued that President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship defeat is “a win even if it’s not an actual win.”
The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment on Tuesday. The court ruling reaffirmed the long-standing constitutional principle that nearly all children born on U.S. soil are automatically U.S. citizens.
“It really seems, from the majority ruling the 5-4 majority, which was a lot tighter than we expected, that you’re probably going to need a constitutional amendment to change what birthright citizenship is under the law,” Birle said Thursday on Newsmax2’s First Edition.
Trump’s executive order included efforts to preserve birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. with at least one parent who is a citizen or lawful permanent resident, while excluding children born to parents who are both in the country illegally or temporarily.
Birle said the ruling leaves the administration with a few viable options if it hopes to revisit the issue.
“You can try passing the law, but as we’ve seen with the SAVE Act, it’s very hard to get through the Senate with that filibuster, so that could be an option, but the most foolproof way of getting a change on birthright citizenship would be a constitutional amendment,” Birle said.
The decision also reinforced the Supreme Court’s 1898 precedent in the United States v. Wong Kim Ark, making it clear that such a sweeping change cannot be accomplished through executive action alone.
While acknowledging Trump’s defeat, Birle also noted Trump’s success in other efforts regarding immigration, saying, “outside of this birthright citizenship case, he’s been almost perfect at the Supreme Court with immigration this term.”
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Birle suggested that this ruling has strengthened Trump’s ability to pursue a more aggressive immigration agenda.
“I mean, it looks like the president’s going to be able to pursue a pretty aggressive immigration agenda as he has done,” he said.