Dear John,

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released a ruling that significantly impacts the immigration system in this country and has serious repercussions for the judiciary’s role in checking presidential powers.

By ruling in favor of the government in a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, SCOTUS has delivered a devasting loss for “we the people” and the Constitution. Sadly, the decision does not address whether the President’s Executive Order (EO) to limit birthright citizenship is legal. In every case where a lower court has ruled on the birthright citizenship EO, they have found it to be unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court decision is wrong on so many levels:

This ruling is a violation of SCOTUS’s Constitutional Oath to support the Constitution and their Judicial Oath to administer justice fairly and impartially. It goes against Supreme Court precedent and the 14th Amendment which clearly states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” This is a fundamental promise of the Constitution.
This ruling smacks of partisanship. It is part of a strategy to strip federal judges of the power to stop extreme and unlawful actions by the President.
This ruling is immoral and discriminatory. First, moving forward, immigrant family rights will depend on which state they are born in or live in, creating chaos and irreparable harm. Second, because the only way for folks to fight back when their rights are being violated is through litigation—which costs a lot of money—people from low-income and marginalized communities will be unable to access attorneys and the courts.

Hard-working families deserve better—they deserve a Supreme Court that upholds the Constitution and protects the civil and human rights of all!

In solidarity,

Rev. Dr. John Welch, Chair, Gamaliel Board of Directors