Statement on Birthright Citizenship Ruling by Attorneys Who Secured Injunction in Massachusetts Federal Court
June 30, 2026
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in this land. We keep that promise today.” Chief Justice Roberts, U.S. v. Barbara (June 20, 2026).
Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court affirms the constitutional principle at the heart of the case Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) brought on behalf of expectant mothers and members of La Colaborativa and the Brazilian Worker Center.
Within hours of the Executive Order being signed on Inauguration Day, Lawyers for Civil Rights filed suit in the District of Massachusetts. We secured a preliminary injunction protecting families from the unconstitutional Executive Order—a decision the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit later affirmed as the litigation continued.
Today’s ruling vindicates what our clients have argued from the very beginning: the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to every child born in the United States, and no executive order can erase that constitutional promise.
The Supreme Court reaffirmed one of the Constitution’s clearest and most enduring guarantees: every child born in the United States is a citizen of the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. This decision preserves a principle that has protected generations of Americans and ensures that children will not begin life with a constitutional question mark hanging over their future.
This victory belongs first to the families who had the courage to stand up for their children and for the Constitution. Lawyers for Civil Rights is honored to have represented immigrant families and community organizations—including La Colaborativa and the Brazilian Worker Center—whose courage protected not only their own children, but countless others across the country.
This case has always been about more than citizenship. It has been about whether children begin life with certainty or uncertainty, belonging or exclusion.
“Today, our children know what we have always known: they belong,” said Gladys Vega, Executive Director of La Colaborativa. “This decision protects generations of families and the promise that every child born in this country deserves the same rights and the same future.”
“Today is a victory for our children and for every family that had the courage to stand up for them,” said Lenita Reason, Executive Director of the Brazilian Worker Center. “No child should grow up wondering whether they belong in the country where they were born. Today’s decision ensures they won’t have to. This victory belongs to every immigrant mother, father, and child who refused to be intimidated. We knew from day one that the law and justice were on our side, but it took the collective courage of our grassroots coalition to force this administration to back down. This Supreme Court ruling proves that when working-class immigrant communities organize, stand up, and fight back, we can overcome even the most powerful overreach.”
“The Fourteenth Amendment constitutionalized the longstanding common-law rule of birthright citizenship. The children of immigrants are fully subject to U.S. jurisdiction and they are citizens at birth,” said Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of Lawyers for Civil Rights.
Birthright citizenship is more than a legal status. It is the foundation of belonging, security, and equal opportunity. The Fourteenth Amendment promises children certainty from the moment they are born—not years of fear and uncertainty. Every child deserves the security of knowing that the Constitution protects them from their very first day.
Birthright citizenship has never been simply about passports. It has always been about giving every child born in America the certainty that they belong, the security to build a future, and the equal protection of the Constitution from the very beginning of life. When children know they belong, families can build their lives, communities can flourish, and our nation is stronger.
Today, the Supreme Court reaffirmed what our clients have fought to protect from the very beginning: every child belongs.
Lawyers for Civil Rights sued and secured a preliminary injunction in Doe et al. v. Trump et al., No. 25-cv-10135 (D. Mass.)—affirmed by the First Circuit in Doe v. Trump, No. 25-1169 (1st Cir. Oct. 3, 2025)—protecting our clients while the constitutional questions resolved today by the Supreme Court were litigated.
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