The Barbara Decision & it’s Relevance to Christians Today
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trump v. Barbara struck down as unconstitutional an executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents unlawfully present or who have only temporary legal status. The Court, in a 6-3 decision, upheld almost 130 years of legal precedent. The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment clearly states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States…” The fact that the case was even on the Court’s docket is not surprising, in light of the attempt by the Trump administration to redefine the Citizenship Clause in order to take away citizenship from American children born to undocumented immigrants.
From a Christian perspective, the Court ruling is significant for several reasons because it is supported by an abundance of passages from the Bible. In the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, God implores us “to not oppress the alien,” but rather, to welcome and love her as yourself (Leviticus 19:33). This concept is perfectly aligned with Jesus’ teaching to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).
Second, the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship is essential in keeping immigrant families together. If the Court had adopted the government’s argument in the Barbara case, millions of children born on U.S. soil to undocumented parents would suddenly have no valid legal status, and therefore, be subject to deportation without any meaningful due process. This would undoubtedly result in the breakup of the nuclear family structure on a massive scale. Many biblical passages emphasize love, forgiveness and respect as the foundational elements of a strong and united family (e.g., Colossians 3:14, Psalm 133:1).
Third, the Court’s decision to uphold the clear meaning of the Citizenship Clause preserves basic human dignity. Children born in the U.S. should not be penalized because of the legal status of their parents. God bestows love and dignity on every human being without exception. We are, after all, created in His own image. Jesus’ teaching to love others as oneself mean treating others with the same dignity and respect that one desires for oneself, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender orientation, or immigration status. To take away the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. based on their parents’ immigration status is to completely strip them of this fundamental right to human dignity.
The Court’s decision in Barbara was correctly decided, but merely reaffirms what we already know about the clear meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment's citizenship clause. There is nothing new or groundbreaking about the Court’s decision from a legal perspective. (The closeness of the decision is, however, troubling and a reflection of where we are as a nation.) What is much more interesting for Christians is that it instills in us hope that God's love and grace are still very much present even in the midst of all the turbulence and division that we see in the world around us. Sometimes we just need to look beyond human frailty and their capacity for cruelty. Jesus’ commandment to love your neighbor as yourself includes the “alien,” and is just as relevant today as it was two thousand years ago.