NAACP LDF Head: Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Challenge Is a Danger to Black Americans

When President Donald Trump issued an executive order to end birthright citizenship, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund– with American Civil Liberties Union and other partners– immediately sued to stop his agenda. Now, after a year of debates, the landmark court fight is in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The high court is set to hear oral arguments on Trump v. Barbara on Wednesday (April 1). The president is expected to attend to show a sign of interest in the ruling. The Root spoke with Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, about what’s really at stake for Black Americans ahead of the historic case.

The Root: What should Black Americans be watching and listening for during the oral arguments?

President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund Janai Nelson: I think Black people should be deeply concerned about any effort to effectively amend any part of the 14th Amendment by executive order. There is no ability for a president to undermine an amendment to the Constitution, and certainly not an amendment as important as the 14th, by executive fiat. And birthright citizenship is something that has been a longstanding principle.

The Root: What kinds of language and arguments from the Trump administration concern you most when debating the 14th Amendment?

Nelson: It was well debated at the time the 14th Amendment was ratified [in 1886]. It has been interpreted by the Supreme Court for well over a century as being clear and explicit, and its requirement to allow citizenship to be enjoyed by people born on the soil. So the xenophobic, racist and discriminatory agenda of the Trump administration should not be allowed to force the court or the court of public opinion to see the Constitution any differently.

The Root: What do you say to people who might look at Trump v. Barbara as solely an immigration issue?

Nelson: There’s no denying that the origin of the 14th Amendment and the Citizenship Clause included formerly enslaved Africans as citizens in this country. Full stop. That, however, does not mean that a broad principle that was established in the 14th Amendment citizenship clause cannot extend beyond that group of people, and that that wasn’t the intention all along… because it was.

The Root: After over 157 years of the Citizenship Clause, why have these debates finally reached the Supreme Court in this manner?

Nelson: That, again, has been well debated. It’s been litigated, and it has been firmly decided and has been sacrosanct in our constitutional order. It is now being challenged and has been for some time by folks who believe in the replacement theory, by folks who believe in fringe and conspiracy ideas about America being for a particular type of person and redefining citizenship around race. That is the danger that we see here, and that is the direct link to immigration.

The Root: How will the court’s weigh in on the president’s interpretation of birthright citizenship impact all Americans?

Nelson: When you pair this administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment with its efforts around extending temporary protected status, with its efforts to unleash ICE to terrorize communities that are primarily communities of color, with its selective immigration enforcement and processes that allow certain countries and not others, access to the American dream… It’s clear that this is part of a concerted effort to ensure that people of color in this country don’t continue to dominate the population as they are already on track to do.

The Root: How should Black people brace for impact if the Supreme Court rules in favor of the president?

Nelson: We should be on high alert, because that means the 14th Amendment then becomes vulnerable, because the Supreme Court would be allowing a president to decide how it is defined. And there are critical provisions, including the Citizenship Clause, that we should care about as Black people who are not only Black Americans in this country but part of the water diaspora of Black people in this country. And secondly, there are other provisions of the 14th Amendment that could potentially be encroached upon if Trump is given this opening– or any president.