Vice President JD Vance is pushing Republican lawmakers to move fast in response to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship, a ruling that has left conservatives fuming and already sparked talk of a constitutional amendment.
The Supreme Court handed down its ruling in Trump v. Barbara on Tuesday, striking down an executive order President Trump signed on his first day in office. That order attempted to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to babies born on American soil whose parents were either in the country illegally or present only temporarily. In a 5-4 decision on the constitutional question at the heart of the case, the Court determined that such children fall under the jurisdiction of the United States as outlined in the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, making them citizens from birth. As Trending Politics reported, Vance wasted no time calling on Congress to act.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, with Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson joining him. Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with the outcome but only partially, basing much of his reasoning on statutory grounds tied to the Immigration and Nationality Act while pushing back on the scope of the constitutional holding. Justices Thomas (with Gorsuch), Alito, and others dissented, arguing for a more restrictive reading that would tie citizenship to a parent's domicile or allegiance.
The ruling reaffirmed what has been the prevailing legal understanding since the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark: birthright citizenship applies to virtually everyone born on U.S. soil, with only a handful of narrow, historically recognized exceptions like children of foreign diplomats or enemy combatants. The Court refused to carve out any new exceptions based on parents' immigration status, leaving automatic citizenship intact for children of undocumented immigrants and those here on temporary visas.
Appearing on Fox News with Laura Ingraham, Vance expressed frustration but struck an optimistic tone given how close the vote was.
"The fact that this case was a 5-4 decision effectively means that the concept of birthright citizenship, which is an absurdity to the 14th amendment, that concept is hanging by a thread," Vance told Ingraham.
He predicted the ruling would only intensify Republican resolve to tackle what he considers the most harmful consequences of the current system, including birth tourism, through legislative channels. "We've got to fix the immigration system even more. We have to be even more aware of who's coming into our country to make sure that they're not benefiting from this atrocious Supreme Court ruling," Vance added.
The vice president also signaled that the fight is far from over, noting that "we actually have an opportunity to reverse this decision just as we reverse so many bad decisions throughout the generations."
That thin margin has lit a fire under Republican lawmakers who believe the broad interpretation of the 14th Amendment incentivizes illegal immigration through what critics call the "anchor baby" phenomenon. Several GOP senators are already pursuing the nuclear option: a constitutional amendment, which remains the only surefire way to override the Court's interpretation absent a future change in the bench's composition.
Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky introduced a constitutional amendment back in April 2026 that would restrict automatic citizenship to children born to at least one U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a member of the Armed Forces. Senator Mike Lee of Utah doubled down on his own amendment push after Tuesday's decision, describing the current policy as "cheap and cheated citizenship." Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri went further, calling the ruling "wrong, dangerous, and disastrous for American sovereignty" and announcing plans for both legislation and his own constitutional amendment proposal aimed at restoring what he called "the sacred bond between American citizens and their government."
Additional senators and House Republicans have voiced support for similar reform efforts, suggesting the birthright citizenship debate is only heating up. Whether any amendment could clear the sky-high bar of two-thirds approval in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures remains a very different question.
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