Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, recently described the Supreme Court's affirmation of birthright citizenship as a "travesty." However, past statements suggest a different perspective from the senator, who previously defended the constitutional principle.
In a 2011 interview, when he was a Senate candidate, Cruz stated, "The 14th Amendment provides for birthright citizenship." He further elaborated, "I’ve looked at the legal arguments against it, and I will tell you, as a Supreme Court litigator, those arguments are not very good. As much as someone may dislike the policy of birthright citizenship, it’s in the U.S. Constitution."
Cruz's current position aligns with efforts by former President Donald Trump to challenge birthright citizenship. Trump had floated the idea of ending the practice before his first term and later attempted to issue an executive order to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas.
In 2011, Cruz also remarked that it was a "mistake" for conservatives to focus on ending birthright citizenship. He expressed that he did not favor federal judges disregarding the Constitution based on policy preferences. The senator's apparent shift in stance on birthright citizenship has drawn criticism and has been noted by other political figures, including former Senator Marco Rubio during the 2016 presidential debates and Trump himself.
The 14th Amendment states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Cruz argued Tuesday that this amendment was not intended to establish automatic citizenship.