Hundreds rally for birthright citizenship at supreme court: ‘We are an immigrant nation’

Around 250 demonstrators packed the steps of the supreme court on Wednesday, chanting in defense of birthright citizenship as Donald Trump himself watched from the public gallery in an unprecedented appearance.

Beija McCarter, an eighth grade US history teacher, and Noah Goldstein, a New Yorker who was also at last month’s trans rights rally, both arrived at the demonstration with little optimism about what the justices inside might decide.

“Checks and balances only work if there’s balance, and we’re not really having that,” said McCarter, who was born in Brazil to American military parents and had to formally apply for her own citizenship, giving her a small window into a process that is far harder for most others. “The rhetoric is that immigrants are taking our jobs, but they’re actually doing the jobs that Americans aren’t hoping to do – we should be nicer to our neighbor.”

Goldstein was just as blunt about the court itself: “All nine of those justices in there know that birthright citizenship is codified in the fourteenth amendment, and I’m not confident that they are going to speak to what they know to be true.”

“You can only hope they’re going to take their jobs seriously,” McCarter chimed in.

Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts, also joined the crowd outside the court as the case against Trump’s executive order – filed by the ACLU chapters of Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire alongside the national ACLU – was argued. She said the mood among demonstrators was one of joy and optimism.

“Trump wants to make the story be about him, but that’s not what the story is today – the story today is about the constitution and the Bill of Rights,” Rose said.

Trump issued the executive order targeting birthright citizenship on his first day in office, directing a reinterpretation of the constitution that runs counter to 158 years of precedent. His administration has framed the order as the correct reading of the law despite widespread disagreement from courts.

If the policy were ultimately upheld, hundreds of thousands of children born in the US each year could be blocked from automatic citizenship. A final decision is expected this summer.

Bishop William Barber, the social activist and first speaker to take the stage at the rally, framed the case in explicitly spiritual terms, calling the executive order an “unholy attack on babies and children” that cuts across the teachings of many faiths. He warned that overturning birthright citizenship would strip millions of children of healthcare, protection from deportation and the basic promise of justice.

“There will be nothing supreme about ending birthright citizenship,” he said.

He also pushed back on how the court’s majority is typically characterized. “I don’t call them conservative, they’re extremists,” he said, adding that a ruling against birthright citizenship would have only one logical conclusion: “We have to go on top of that building and erase equal protection under the law.”

Inside the courtroom, a majority of justices appeared skeptical of the government’s position, though it remains unclear how many might ultimately side with Trump. The case represents one of his signature policy efforts, coming after the court already struck down his tariffs, and a ruling against him would mark another significant legal setback.

Robin Galeraith made the trip from Maryland to be there, and was heartened by the size of the crowd but cautious about the outcome.

“It’s very nice to see so many people defending the constitution and defending what makes our country great – we are an immigrant nation, and that is why we thrive for so long,” she said.

She dismissed Trump’s appearance at the court as the behavior of someone acting out of fear rather than strength, and voiced concern that outside financial influence had skewed the ideological makeup of the bench.

“Unfortunately, our supreme court has kind of been bought and paid for by the super rich,” she said. “And so that’s really concerning, because our nation is not supposed to be a nation of just only rich.”

Among those who took the stage to address the crowd was celebrity chef José Andrés, a US immigrant whose appearance drew one of the loudest reactions of the morning.

“My three daughters were born here,” he told the crowd. “So let me tell you something. My three daughters are as American as anybody, and no one will ever take that from them.”

He closed with a challenge to everyone gathered: “The American dream in the 21st Century means that all of us, we need to make sure that we work hard to make sure that everyone has the same rights as my daughters did, the same opportunities that we want for our own children.”