1. United States
2. Mont.
3. Letter

I am writing to express my strong opposition to your decision to sign the amicus brief supporting President Trump's challenge to birthright citizenship before the Supreme Court. This position fundamentally contradicts the values that have made America a beacon of hope for generations of families like mine. My grandparents became citizens because their parents fled Nazi persecution and found refuge in a country that recognized birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. Ratified in 1868 to grant citizenship to former slaves, this amendment states clearly that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." This principle has stood for over 150 years as a cornerstone of American identity. The brief you signed argues that "jurisdiction" requires "total allegiance to the sovereign" rather than mere physical presence. This interpretation would create a dangerous precedent where citizenship becomes conditional and subject to political litmus tests. As Michael Black Wolf of the Fort Belknap Indian Community noted, the brief cites an 1884 Supreme Court case that denied Native Americans citizenship for owing allegiance to their tribes, a ruling so unjust it required the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act to correct. Reviving this logic threatens not just immigrant families but the fundamental principle that being born on American soil makes you American. President Trump's January 2025 executive order seeks to end automatic citizenship for babies born to parents here temporarily or without legal authorization. This would create a permanent underclass of stateless children born on American soil, contradicting everything our nation claims to stand for. I urge you to withdraw your support from this brief and publicly affirm your commitment to birthright citizenship as guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This is not about immigration enforcement; it is about preserving a constitutional right that has defined American citizenship for over a century.