Trump officials cite white supremacists in bid to end birthright citizenship

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/03/30/trump-birthright-citizenship-supreme-court-case/

The administration builds its arguments on an 1800s campaign, led in part by a Confederate officer, that scholars say was steeped in anti-Black and anti-Chinese racism.

The Trump administration argues the 14th Amendment does not apply to people in the country illegally or on temporary visas. If the high court agrees, and reverses the long-held interpretation, it could render hundreds of thousands of children born to immigrant parents stateless.

Trump administration attorneys cite Morse in their Supreme Court brief to argue the disputed idea that commentators in the 19th century widely agreed that the Constitution “exclude[s] the children of foreigners transiently within the United States” from qualifying for citizenship.

Salyer said the challenge of mounting a credible argument against birthright citizenship — which has long been accepted as legal bedrock — may explain why the administration relies so heavily on Morse, Wharton and Collins.