What A Day SCOTUS Takes On Birthright Citizenship
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Apr 2, 2026 
Melissa Murray, NYU law professor and co-host of Strict Scrutiny, offers clear constitutional analysis of the 14th Amendment. She walks through the text and its exceptions. She critiques the administration’s historical claims and recounts justices’ reactions during oral argument. She also considers what a ruling could mean for the Court’s credibility and future disputes.
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Textual Clarity Of The 14th Amendment
- The 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause plainly grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S. who is subject to its jurisdiction.
- Melissa Murray stresses the text reads "All persons born or naturalized in the United States" and has long been interpreted to include children of immigrants.
Limited Exceptions To Birthright Citizenship
- Two narrow exceptions exist: children of foreign diplomats and, historically, Native American tribal members.
- Melissa Murray explains diplomats' children aren't "subject to the jurisdiction" and Congress later extended citizenship to Native Americans in the 1950s.
14th Amendment As Rejection Of Dred Scott
- The 14th Amendment was enacted to repudiate Dred Scott and reinstate longstanding Anglo‑American birthright principles.
- Murray notes framers debated immigration-era questions, showing they intended citizenship to include U.S.-born children regardless of parents' origin.