Migration, Citizenship, and the U.S. Constitution

The U.S. Supreme Court narrowly upheld birthright citizenship in June 2026, and the invocations of competing versions of U,S, history in the Trump v Barbara opinion sparked questions about the origins of that bedrock constitutional guarantee. What was citizenship like before the 14th Amendment for politically disfavored groups, and why is the bedrock guarantee of birthright citizenship in the Constitution? Professor Anna Law, a scholar of U.S. immigration and constitutional law and history, is the author of Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship, a timely new book that addresses these questions. Professor Prudence Cumberbatch, chair of Africana Studies and a scholar of African American studies, race, and gender, will offer comments.