Washington, D.C. – Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) joined arms outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices heard oral arguments for Trump v. CASA, Washington & New Jersey. Led by immigration rights advocacy group CASA, impacted members and representatives of the CHC denounced the Trump Administration’s executive order and their attempts to stop lower courts from putting a nationwide pause on their unlawful and unilateral end to birthright citizenship—an act CHC members called an unconstitutional overreach. CHC Chair Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (CA-12), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD-08), CAPAC Chair Grace Meng (NY-06), Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), CHC Whip Sylvia García (TX-29), CHC Vice Chair of Policy Rob Menendez (NJ-08), CHC Vice Chair of Communications Norma Torres (CA-35), and CHC Representatives Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), and Luz Rivas (CA-29) joined advocates to speak out about the administration’s unconstitutional actions and to call on the Supreme Court to do the right thing. “Birthright citizenship is not up for debate—it’s enshrined in the 14th Amendment of our Constitution, and no president, past or present, has the authority to erase it with the stroke of a pen,” said CHC Chair Adriano Espaillat. “Donald Trump’s executive order is a direct attack on immigrant communities and an affront to our national values. The Supreme Court must reject the dangerous attempt by the Trump administration to stop the nationwide pause on their illegal executive order and reaffirm that in every state in America, if you’re born here, you belong here.” Birthright citizenship is guaranteed under the 14th Amendment, which affirms that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens. Countless federal courts already ruled that to be the case. Repealing the nationwide ruling from the lower courts would not only create a patchwork of citizenship rules across the country, but also seed confusion, discrimination and lasting harm to families and communities. The CHC remains steadfast in its goal of defending the core of America’s national identity and protecting families of all backgrounds. ### |