Keeping Our Nation’s Promise: IINE Statement on Supreme Court’s Decision on Birthright Citizenship

For more than 150 years, birthright citizenship has been a defining promise of the United States. The International Institute of New England commends the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding this fundamental principle, which reflects our national values of freedom, opportunity, and fairness.  

President Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship would have had devastating consequences for millions. According to the ACLU, as many as 5 million children could have faced statelessness over the next two decades, creating enormous barriers to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity. Ending birthright citizenship would also have threatened to tear families apart, as parents in the U.S. with legal status grappled with the possibility of their children being detained and deported.  

The Court’s decision affirms not only constitutional precedent, but our nation’s enduring commitment to equal protection under the law. Birthright citizenship ensures that all Americans—our neighbors, our healthcare workers, our troops—can live and contribute without fear of being treated as second-class citizens.  

As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, we celebrate the generations of Americans whose contributions were made possible by our commitment to jus soli—the simple, powerful idea that all people born on U.S. soil are equal and belong.