Key Facts

• The Supreme Court recently upheld birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment for children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporarily present immigrants.
• Justice Samuel Alito, along with Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, dissented from this decision.
• Alito believes the Citizenship Clause is interpreted too broadly and should apply only to children who owe allegiance solely to the U.S. at birth.
• He expressed concern about "birth tourism," where women come to the U.S. to give birth to secure citizenship for their children.
• Alito acknowledged many children have been born in the U.S. to undocumented parents and said they should not be punished for their parents’ immigration status.
• He blamed decades of immigration policies and lax enforcement for encouraging unlawful migration and increasing the population of U.S.-born children with undocumented parents.
• Alito said some of these children have a strong moral claim to stay in the U.S., as it is the only home they have known.
• A law professor disagreed with Alito’s reading of the Fourteenth Amendment, saying his view might undermine protections against returning to a discriminatory caste system.