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Just Security ·Behind the news

Counting the Votes in the Supreme Court’s Birthright Citizenship Decision

by Marty Lederman

Published 2026-07-24 14:30:53+00:00

Who on the Supreme Court actually wants to end birthright citizenship?

0:00 / 1:09:01 · Narrator Rasalgethi

Context

Lawmakers are rushing to draft bills that would strip citizenship from babies born in American hospitals to undocumented mothers. They are betting a conservative Supreme Court will back them up. But an essay published on 24 July 2026 pauses to actually count the votes. The political cheering assumes a clear ideological split on the bench. A close reading of the dissenting opinions reveals whether the legal foundation to end birthright citizenship actually exists at all.

Show notes

A legal breakdown of the dissenting opinions in the Supreme Court’s recent birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara. By tracking how the four dissenting justices define terms like jurisdiction and domicile, the analysis tests the popular claim that the Court is ready to end birthright citizenship. The resulting vote count shows why a clear majority of justices would reject new legislation designed to deny citizenship to the children of undocumented immigrants.

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