Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is facing sharp criticism from conservative circles following her vote to uphold birthright citizenship, a decision that effectively struck down a Trump-era executive order. Barrett, one of three justices appointed by former President Donald Trump during his term, joined Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices in the 5-4 ruling.
The majority opinion cited the 14th Amendment, stating that children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are considered "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. and are citizens at birth. This ruling countered Trump's executive order, which aimed to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents deemed to be in the country illegally or on temporary status.
Some conservative commentators expressed strong dissatisfaction with Barrett's stance. Matt Walsh, a pundit for The Daily Wire, wrote on X that Barrett was "a DEI hire, little better than Ketanji [Brown] Jackson," and called her a "terrible pick." Auron MacIntyre of Blaze Media suggested that appointing Barrett was "just as damaging to the country as 'electing' Joe Biden." Conservative writer Megan Basham labeled the decision "an absolute monstrosity."
Memes caricaturing Barrett as a liberal figure circulated online following the ruling. One X user commented, "Amy Coney Barrett has got to be one of Trump's biggest L's."
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another Trump appointee, concurred with the majority's judgment but took a different argumentative path. While he disagreed that Trump's executive order violated the 14th Amendment's definition of citizenship, he sided with the majority, believing the order conflicted with a 1940 law passed by Congress. Kavanaugh suggested that Congress could potentially legislate the same citizenship restrictions Trump sought.
This backlash follows a recent ruling where Barrett authored the majority opinion on late-receipt mail-in ballots, a decision also criticized by some conservative figures, including talk show host Megyn Kelly, who called Barrett a "turncoat."
Barrett has previously been the subject of security concerns. She was targeted in an alleged swatting incident last month, and her sister, Amanda Coney Williams, reportedly received a bomb threat in March.