US Catholics welcome Supreme Court ruling upholding birthright citizenship

‘For more than a century, birthright citizenship has helped integrate new generations into the fabric of our nation. We celebrate the achievements of those who proudly called themselves first-generation Americans.’

Catholic immigration advocates praised the US Supreme Court ruling that upheld birthright citizenship for children born in the United States.

Anna Gallagher, executive director of Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc, said in a statement after the ruling on 30 June that her organisation was “relieved and grateful” that the court upheld a right that she said is “so important for our identity as a nation and for safeguarding justice and human dignity in line with Catholic social teaching”.

“We are glad to receive a decision that will bring relief to immigrant families and our network,” Gallagher said. “This is a win for immigrants, and a win for justice.”

The court rejected President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order that sought to prevent children born to immigrants who are in the US illegally or temporary foreign residents from becoming American citizens. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the executive order violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.

Writing in the Miami Herald, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami said the court’s decision affirmed “the dignity of innocent children” and is consistent with the country’s democratic traditions.

“For more than a century, birthright citizenship has helped integrate new generations of Americans into the fabric of our nation,” Wenski wrote. “Here in South Florida, as elsewhere in the United States, we celebrate the achievements of those who proudly called themselves first-generation Americans.”

The US bishops’ conference did not comment on the ruling, but in an amicus brief previously filed to the court it said that doing away with birthright citizenship would undermine Church teaching and the country’s “moral foundations”.

“The intended and unintended effects of the executive order are immoral and contrary to the Catholic Church’s fundamental beliefs and teachings regarding the life and dignity of human persons, the treatment of vulnerable people – particularly migrants and children – and family unity,” the brief said.

Christopher Kerr, executive director of Ignatian Solidarity Network, said in a statement that the ruling “ensures that hundreds of thousands of children born on US soil will not be cast into a lifetime of statelessness or second-class citizenship”.

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