During oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson made her case for why the children of foreign tourists ought to qualify for birthright American citizenship if they are born in the United States while their parents are on vacation. The case, known as Trump v. Barbara, will decide whether or not President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for the U.S.-born children of illegal aliens and foreign tourists, often referred to as “anchor babies,” is constitutional.
During an exchange with the ACLU’s Cecillia Wang, who is arguing that the order is unconstitutional, Jackson seemingly made a case for why birthright citizenship should extend to foreigners who just so happen to be on vacation in the United States at the time their child is born. “I was thinking about this and I think there are various sources that say this, that you can have — you obviously have permanent allegiance based on being born in whatever country you’re from, that’s what everyone recognizes,” Jackson said. “But you also have local allegiance when you are on the soil of this other sovereign.”
