The Supreme Court Rules Today on Birthright Citizenship
Will it Embrace our Racist Past?
by Mark M. Bello
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to issue a ruling that could test the very foundation of American identity—birthright citizenship. At the heart of the matter lies a single, unambiguous sentence:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens…” — 14th Amendment, Section 1
For over 150 years—since the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed, repudiating the 1857 Dred Scott decision—this sentence has guaranteed that if you are born on U.S. soil, you are an American. No further permission required. No political litmus test.
Yet, in an era where executive power is being stretched beyond its constitutional limits, even bedrock principles feel fragile. Despite centuries of settled precedent—from United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) to modern lower court affirmations—the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, molded by the Trump presidency, may be tempted to reinterpret clear language to suit ideological goals.
Will they uphold the Constitution, or yield to a fringe reading that punishes children for the immigration status of their parents?
We’ll know soon. But here’s the truth: birthright citizenship isn’t a policy—it’s a promise, one the Constitution made to all of us. If the Court breaks that promise, the people must respond—not with panic, but with principled resistance.
I understand that the job of the Supreme Court is to “interpret” the Constitution. However, some constitutional provisions need no interpretation. Once we allow the president or the Supreme Court or anyone else to strip away citizenship, we are all at risk.
“While the Declaration of Independence states that all men are endowed certain unalienable rights including ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,’ it does NOT grant rights that may be pursued through the judicial system. See also Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, 407 (1857).”
You read that correctly. This guy was Kansas’s top lawyer, and he cited Dred Scott as precedent in his argument. Why? Because he’s a racist and Dred Scott has never been officially overturned.
It is no coincidence that he wrote this racist brief and argued this case in the first year of the first Trump Administration, only nine years ago. Since 2016, Trump has appointed three Supreme Court justices and created a “conservative” majority on the high court. Is it possible that the United States of America and our current Supreme Court majority will embrace its shameful racist past and continue to expand the Trump autocracy?
We’ll know this afternoon. Until then (and, perhaps, afterward) We, the People, are all at risk.
Mark M. Bello
Mark M. Bello is an attorney and author of 9 Zachary Blake Legal Thrillers and other legal themed novels and children’s books. For more information, please visit https://www.markmbello.com
For many years, Bob Gatty worked as a writer, editor, and communications consultant, based on the Washington, DC area with a focus on government and politics. He began at The Pittsburgh Courier, an African American weekly, covering crime and the courts. His salary was $55 per week before moving on to two local Pennsylvania dailies. At age 24, he began reporting for United Press International covering state politics in Pennsylvania and then New Jersey, where he was UPI’s state capitol bureau in Trenton.
Tempted by the allure of Washington, DC and big-time politics, at age 29 Bob became press secretary and chief of staff for two Congressmen – first Republican Edwin B. Forsythe, and then Democrat James J. Florio, who later became governor of New Jersey and until his recent death was a frequent podcast guest and co-host of Bob’s NFN Radio News podcast (now called Lean to the Left).
After seven years on Capitol Hill, Bob opened a communications business in Washington, first providing political media consulting to candidates and then freelance Washington coverage for business and trade magazines, plus creative communications services for trade and professional associations, including social media. This work involved articles and analyses of key governmental developments affecting businesses, such as the food and Health industries, retailing, and the environment.
His work as a communications consultant to trade and professional associations included launching and editing association publications, providing website content and social media assistance, and covering conferences and conventions.
Bob retired from G-Net Strategic Communications in 2016 and moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, where he launched his blog site, first called Not Fake News, now known as Lean to the Left.
Hijacked Nation
In August, 2020, Bob and co-author Chris Waldron, one of Lean to the Left's most loyal and prolific contributor, published "Hijacked Nation-Donald Trump's Attack on America's Greatness," a two-volume compilation of blogs regarding Trump's presidency and the consequences for our nation. A followup volume was published by Luna Global Media in September 2024. It is available at https://amzn.to/4ePrTF7 .
In all three volumes, blogs from Not Fake News and Lean to the Left create a virtual play-by-play of key actions of the Trump administration and Congress. For more information, please visit https://leantotheleft.net/books/, and visit Bob's Author's Page on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/stores/Bob-Gatty/author/B08C7HWXZ5?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=4e603563-7251-4074-b54d-40800c4ce40a.
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https://www.youtube.com/@LeantotheLeft.
Will it Embrace our Racist Past?
