President Donald Trump sparked fresh controversy on Tuesday after sarcastically congratulating Chinese President Xi Jinping over the US Supreme Court’s recent birthright citizenship decision.
His remarks referred to the landmark 1898 ruling United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that most children born on US soil automatically receive American citizenship under the 14th Amendment.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I would like to congratulate President Xi, and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN!”
The statement was made just hours after Trump’s attempt to limit birthright citizenship was denied by the US Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling.
This severely undermined one of the main tenets of his immigration program. The court decided that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment grants automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are either temporarily or illegally present.
Read more: US birthright citizenship at risk? Here’s what happens if it’s abolished; all we know as Trump faces major setback
Why did Trump mention Xi Jinping?
Trump’s reference to Xi Jinping was aimed at the historical case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
Wong Kim Ark was born in San Francisco in 1873 to Chinese immigrant parents who were not US citizens. After returning from a trip abroad, he was denied re-entry by US officials, who argued that he was not an American citizen because of his parents’ nationality.
In 1898, the Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark was a US citizen by birth under the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. The decision became the legal foundation for birthright citizenship in the US.
Chief Justice John Roberts referenced the same case on Tuesday, stating that there was no justification for deviating from the established constitutional understanding.
Trump seemed to imply that people born in the US to Chinese parents have long benefited from the decision by applauding Xi.
Read more: US top court upholds birthright citizenship, Trump plans way to undo it
What is the 14th Amendment and what did Trump’s executive order state?
Trump has repeatedly argued that birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and “birth tourism.” On his first day back in office, he signed an executive order seeking to deny automatic citizenship to babies born in the US.
Trump’s executive order attempted to reinterpret the 14th Amendment by arguing that children born to non-citizen parents who are either in the country illegally or who have temporary legal status are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the US and, as a result, are not entitled to birthright citizenship.
The goal of the order was to limit citizenship to children of present US citizens or other lawful permanent residents who had made the country their “domicile.”
