Supreme Court Split on Birthright Citizenship Signals Future Constitutional Crisis Risk

What was said

"I was really appalled by the birthright citizenship decision. Not appalled in that they upheld birthright citizenship, but rather that the vote was 6 to 3, and one of those 6 votes that's Brett Kavanaugh, said that he did not believe it was a constitutional violation, but a legal violation. And if the law were changed, he would be willing to vote the other way. That would mean we would have a 5-4 decision in support of birthright citizenship."

Historian Heather Cox Richardson warns that the Supreme Court's narrow 6-3 vote upholding birthright citizenship masks a deeper threat to constitutional protections. Justice Brett Kavanaugh's signal that he would reverse his position if Congress changed the law reduces the margin to a precarious 5-4, despite lower courts calling the administration's position blatantly unconstitutional. Richardson describes this as evidence the Court is willing to rewrite constitutional protections and act as if there is no Constitution when the executive declares emergencies.