Vice President JD Vance highlighted a “silver lining” in the Supreme Court’s recent decision that opposed President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship. He noted that the close 5-4 ruling signals that “the concept of birthright citizenship is hanging by a thread.”
During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on The Ingraham Angle, Vance expressed that the Supreme Court’s ruling was a “major, major mistake.” Vance pointed out that pregnant foreign nationals can come to the United States “on a vacation, give birth” and then their child and family “have the full benefits of American citizenship.”
Vance expressed the need to “continue to enforce the border” following the ruling. He described the Supreme Court’s decision as “very disappointing,” while acknowledging the importance of respecting it. He echoed Justice Alito and Thomas by suggesting that this ruling might encourage people to travel to the U.S., have a child, and subsequently gain full citizenship benefits for the family, which he called “a preposterous ruling.”
Despite the setback, Vance noted that many legal experts feared an even more lopsided decision, predicting outcomes of 7-2 or even 8-1 against them. He framed the 5-4 decision as a relatively positive outcome for conservatives.
Continuing his remarks, Vance emphasized that the narrow ruling suggests birthright citizenship is tenuously tied to the Fourteenth Amendment. This, he declared, calls for intensified efforts to refine the immigration process and closely monitor who enters the country. Moreover, he urged continued advocacy, citing past successes in reversing misguided judicial decisions.
Vance’s statements followed the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision, which went against Trump’s initiative to eliminate birthright citizenship.
– News’s Neil Munro reported that although the court’s decision was 6-3, Justice Brett Kavanaugh pointed out that “Trump and other politicians can change the rule via legislation”:
The decision was 6 to 3 against Trump, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued that Trump and other politicians can change the rule via legislation.
“Citizenship, then and now,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority, “was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”
The right applies even to foreign parents who sneak across the United States borders with Canada and Mexico, or who enter as temporary workers or tourists, Roberts insisted.
In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Trump stated in a Truth Social post that Congress “should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship.”