Why the Supreme Court Upheld Birthright Citizenship

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Western Digital is now WD, the drive behind AI, and a proud supporter of this podcast. AI computes fast, but data compounds faster. Having the right storage infrastructure in place isn't just smart, it's what makes intelligence possible. Learn how to build smarter at wd.com.

Alex Ossola (0:18)

The Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship in a blow to one of President Trump's signature policies. And it's primary day in Colorado, and we're looking at a race between a long-time Democratic Congresswoman and her left-wing challenger.

Elizabeth Findell (0:31)

The reason this congressional race is getting so much attention all of a sudden is people want to see whether there is a broader trend outside of New York as far as Democratic socialists gaining momentum.

Alex Ossola (0:45)

Plus, the S&P and the NASDAQ close out their best quarter since 2020 It's Tuesday, June 30th. I'm Alex Ossola for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM Edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories that move the world today.

We're starting the show today with the Supreme Court. It was the last day of the term and the justices issued several major opinions. First up, in a 6-3 vote, they rejected President Trump's attempt to curtail birthright citizenship. Trump aimed to cancel citizenship for people born in the US if their parents were living in the country illegally or if their parents were in the US on temporary visas. It was a signature immigration policy that Trump issued on the first day of his second term. But the executive order was blocked by lower courts. It never went into effect. And now a majority of the Supreme Court has said it's unconstitutional. For more on the decision and its implications for Trump's immigration agenda, Journal Legal Affairs reporter Lydia Wheeler joins me now from Washington.

Lydia, why did the justices strike down this order?

Lydia Wheeler (1:45)

So the whole debate centers on the 14th Amendment and exactly what it says, which is all persons born or naturalized in the US and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the court's majority decision and he said that there was scant evidence that birthright citizenship is limited just to those people who are domiciled in the United States, which is exactly what the Trump administration basically tried to claim. Roberts said that if Congress intended basically to limit American citizenship just to children of people domiciled in the US, that they would have conveyed that, right? And that nothing in the text of the 14th Amendment actually says that. He said, no where do you see the words father or lawful or temporary.

Alex Ossola (2:35)

But this was a 6-3 decision. So what did the dissenters say?

Lydia Wheeler (2:39)

We saw dissents come in from justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito. And these are the court's staunchest conservative members. Justice Thomas said that the court's historical analysis was inaccurate. He said that the 14th Amendment was designed and understood to secure equal rights for newly freed black slaves and basically to ensure that they would never again be treated as second class citizens.

And Justice Samuel Alito, he said that the court basically made a serious mistake with this decision. He said that when the 14th Amendment was adopted, that it was really meant only for children who at birth owe an allegiance to the United States.

Alex Ossola (3:24)

This decision is the third time this year that the Supreme Court has blocked one of Trump's signature initiatives. The other two were his tariffs and his effort to remove Lisa Cook from the Fed. What does that tell us about how the court sees its relationship with President Trump's policy agenda and also his effort to expand presidential authority?

Lydia Wheeler (3:42)

The court gave Trump full reign to fire whoever he wants from whatever agency that he wants except the Fed and you know Republicans then won big today with the court's decision to strike down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with their preferred political candidate and so really the president is walking away here I think with a lot to gain and a lot of big wins from the court this term.

Alex Ossola (4:09)

That was WSJ Legal Affairs reporter Lydia Wheeler. Thank you Lydia.

Lydia Wheeler (4:12)

Thanks so much.

Alex Ossola (4:14)

The court also ruled today that states can ban transgender women and girls from playing on female sports teams. The decision largely divided the justices along ideological lines. It means that the 27 states with those bans can keep them. President Trump today praised the opinion.

And two updates on the food industry. The US. Agriculture Department is planning financial aid of up to 500 million dollars for smaller meatpacking companies. These slaughterhouses are struggling with dwindling cattle supplies which has sent beef prices surging. The program is for US companies and it excludes the four largest beef processors in the country. That's Tyson Foods, JBS, Cargill, and National Beef.