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Letter Campaign · Petition · Rapid Response

DEFEND THE 14TH

Born Here, Belong Here.

The Court just upheld the 14th, by a single vote. The way to defend it for good is to finish it with the 28th.

★ WHAT'S HAPPENING

THE SITUATION

The 14th Amendment is not fine print. Ratified in 1868, in the wreckage of slavery, it made everyone born here a citizen, guaranteed equal protection under the law, and promised due process to every person. It was the first act of constitutional repair this country ever took.

Birthright citizenship was won by Black abolitionists and affirmed for the children of immigrants in *United States v. Wong Kim Ark* (1898); citizenship was extended to Native Americans by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. (Sources: National Archives; 169 U.S. 649.)

In 2025, an executive order sought to end birthright citizenship. On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court struck it down and upheld the 14th, 6 to 3, in *Trump v. Barbara* (slip op. 25-365). But the constitutional protection held by only five justices; a sixth would have let Congress write exceptions by statute. A right that nearly turned on a single vote is a right that is not yet safe.

★ WHY IT MATTERS

If the government can decide that some people born here are not citizens, the floor cracks under all of us. Equal protection. Due process. The 14th is the constitutional foundation civil rights are built on. You do not have to be an immigrant for this to be about you.

We have seen this before. Every time this country moves toward repair, a backlash tries to redraw the line of who belongs. The 14th was the answer to slavery. The answer to a right that can be argued away is to make it permanent, which is why we are organizing to finish Reconstruction with the 28th Amendment. A statute or an order can be undone in a morning. The Constitution cannot.

★ THE CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION

14th Amendment, Section 1 (Citizenship, Equal Protection, Due Process)Gap, needs entrenchment

Birthright citizenship is plain constitutional text, affirmed in *Wong Kim Ark* (1898). That a single ruling can reopen it shows the danger of leaving repair unfinished. The 28th Amendment would entrench it permanently.

★ RUBRIC SCORES

How we score every fight in our Campaign Lab — so we put power where it changes lives.

Viability

Defensive hold

Recommendation

Launch Now

Justice & Freedom Agenda

Democracy & Civil Rights

Democracy

Protecting

Repair

Anti-Black Repair

Public health

Minimal

Why this viability: The executive order is already blocked; the goal is to hold the line and build the constituency for permanent constitutional protection.

Eight-systems impact

Health —Economics LowJustice HighEducation —Media MediumEnvironment —Faith LowPower High

Historical pattern: Every move toward repair meets a backlash that redraws who belongs, from Dred Scott to the 14th to today.

★ WHAT WE'RE DEMANDING

Make birthright citizenship, equal protection, and due process permanent. Tell Congress to pass the 28th Amendment and put the 14th beyond the reach of any single Court.

★ THE RECEIPTS

1868

the 14th Amendment made everyone born here a citizen

Source: National Archives

1898

Wong Kim Ark affirmed birthright citizenship for children of immigrants

Source: 169 U.S. 649

6–3

the Supreme Court struck down the 2025 order and upheld the 14th (June 30, 2026)

Source: Trump v. Barbara, 25-365

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