Vice President JD Vance asserted Tuesday that a divided Supreme Court ruling on birthright citizenship offers a significant positive outcome, despite disappointment among some conservatives. Vance, appearing on Fox News, characterized the 5-4 decision as a "big silver lining."
"The fact that this case was a 5-to-4 decision effectively means that the concept of birthright citizenship, which is an absurdity to the 14th Amendment, that concept is hanging by a thread," Vance stated on "The Ingraham Angle."
The Supreme Court's majority opinion, which included Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett alongside liberal Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor, found that President Trump's executive order to deny birthright citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and tourists violated the 14th Amendment. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while not finding a violation of the 14th Amendment, determined the order conflicted with federal law.
Vance suggested that the ruling, which he called a "preposterous ruling," highlights the need to strengthen immigration laws and remain vigilant about who enters the country. However, he also framed the close vote as an opportunity to continue advocating for a reversal of the decision. He expressed concern that the ruling could encourage pregnant foreign nationals to travel to the U.S. to give birth, thereby gaining citizenship and associated benefits for their families.
"The fact that a lot of legal experts expected this case to go the wrong direction by seven to two, or even eight to one," Vance said, "means that we have to keep fighting... because we actually have an opportunity to reverse this decision."