LULAC's CEO Juan Proaño and The Contrarian’s Norm Eisen and Jen Rubin discuss the litigation around the country against Trump’s unconstitutional birthright decree and why today's first court win is a significant one for democracy.
We know that this will eventually reach the Supreme Court, and hopefully the “justices” will grow a pair and follow the constitution, unless musk & company have bought them off too.
And in all probability your parents were American citizens too. Which means that no matter where you happened to be born you would still be an American citizen at birth. You are not a birthright citizen, you would be a citizen no matter where you were born.
This is much to do about nothing. This is a 14th amendment right. It’s sacrosanct. As much as I disagree with it, and I disagree with it because it has outlived its usefullness. It was enacted to protect the formerly enslaved from being sent to Africa. Today, it’s being abused by any woman who wants a foot in the American door and time her baby to pop out here. We have real big issues ahead of us. Wait until Medicare and Medicaid is reduced. Wait till your Social Security checks are reduced. Wait till the massive tax cuts made in 2017 for the wealthy are renewed. Wait until every move he makes to increase his God Damn fricken wealth for his billionaire Cabinet. But birthright citizenship? Are you kidding? Save your ammo for the real sheet about to hit the fan.
And who do you think helps fund Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security? There are plenty of immigrants who pay in to a system that they can never benefit from.
Bill, I submit that you have your priorities reversed. Yes, an attack on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will be an affront, but allowing a president to get away with unilaterally amending the Constitution would be the biggest "sheet" ever to hit the fan.
Bill. When a dictator wannabe moves against the constitution fighters fight. I disagree with you that this part of the constitution should be revised, but even if I agreed there is power in responding and not accepting unconstitutional decrees.
Maybe that’s the problem in America. Don’t expend too much energy, let the powers that be take care of it, only now, it’s evident that wrong decisions are being made.
I will expend as much energy as want to people who talk about revising our Constitution without a vote frim the people. A fair vote note run by Elrond Musk.
There is extensive legal work supporting the Trump EO. Decisions before the 1898 Won Kim Ark ruling supported the view in the Trump EO. With this SCOTUS I'd say it is 50/50 that it is upheld.
Except birth rates are down among white women. Our population is aging and we don't have enough bodies to fill positions from those retiring. We need to beef up our educational systems and welcome new people and their children in order to have a viable workforce. So, the 14th has *not* outlived its usefulness.
But hold a holy moment. I’m not against immigration. Why to you cast me in that light? I am against illegal immigration. That’s all. But my grandparents came here to Ellis island. I have one of their naturalization papers framed proudly on my wall. You are being unfair to me.
Bill, do you realize that there is no real way for people from the Southern countries to legally immigrate here? The immigrants to Ellis Island are white Europeans. At some point the white powers agreed to also allow people from Greece and Portugal to come here since they were almost white enough. They went to a lot of trouble to keep the Chinese people who came here to build the railroads from legally staying in the US. And there has never been a normal, legal way for people from South and Central America to come here. If you have a close relative here it could take 20 years for you to join them if you're from the South. For real.
In 1923, Congress passed The Immigration Act on account of too many were coming. Stop understanding this to be racist. The Irish were resoundingly not accepted in the quantity’s that arrived. Same for my people, the Italians and Eastern European Jews. Everyone has gotten the same treatment. Half of my people turned cities into mafia fiefdoms that took decades to eradicate.
Well, I was born in 1951 And my mother in 1924 so my Grandparents actually did come through Ellis island. But they were white and spoke English having immigrated from Scotland so there was no one barring them.
You left out his own kleptomania. A sitting president using the office to increase his own wealth by billions. I can hear George Washington's wooden teeth being ground into sawdust!
You are a person lacking compassion and historical perspective. This is how a demagogue dictator in the making dismantles the Constitution, as he has done before. You're also a misogynist, given your language about "popping" a baby out. If you had any idea about the birth process, you wouldn't be so foul-mouthed about it.
For what it's worth, Bill, I'm ok with your opinion here. Not that I agree with you, but you raise issues that belong on the table. Fidelity to the Constitution is the core issue, not whether birthright citizenship should be conferred automatically.
Your opinion is uninformed, racist, and misogynistic.
"Contrarian" is not synonymous with "jackass." Or with "Y-chromosomal swine."
You can express your opinions about the need for immigration reform without alluding to racist tropes like anchor babies, and crudely inflicting your ignorance regarding the female reproductive system upon other readers by asserting that babies are "popped out."
Furthermore: women of color are STILL frequently denied any pain relief--much less adequate pain management--during childbirth because they are incorrectly thought to be less capable of feeling pain. By OBGYNs!!!
Your opinion is not that of a contrarian, and trying to hide behind that as defense is ignorant and deeply offensive on multiple counts.
Flattening the opposition for setting forth perspectives other than one's own is what got us into this mess. Partially. I don't see any reason anyone's views should align with yours or mine. That's because we aren't the same people, don't have the same life experiences, and in fact, don't line up in most ways. It's enough (for me) if someone with some views we don't like will, nevertheless, help us uphold democracy, so democracy survives. Fascism would devastate.
Well I don't know about you but there are those who can 'walk and chew gum'. We should fight and take to court any unconstitutional or illegal issue that arises. Save it? That's a defeatist attitude that gets us where we are. Hopeful there are many, many more brave ones out there like these fine lawyers and Contrarian crew that will step in going forward.
Let the people see all the outcomes all the way to supreme court. People have turned their heads for far too long.
After reading much on this topic, I’m changing my views on birthright citizenship. I’m not too old to understand the larger picture. As of this juncture, I now support it. Shocking right?
Really? " any woman who wants a foot in the American door and time her baby to pop out here" shows up to the US. What a disgusting misogynistic thing to put in print.
You know who does this? Rich foreigners! It's a cottage industry that caters to rich foreign women. Why? Because it's a status symbol. Birth tourists often make significant cash declarations upon entry to the United States. These declarations ranged from several thousand to several hundred thousand dollars. While most cash declarations ranged between $20,000 and $50,000, the TECS narrative for one birth tourist from 2019 reported a $301,400 cash declaration for medical expenses.
These are not your poor families sneaking across the border. Maria and Luis trying to get their kids a better life by crossing the border are not calculating how they can use birthright citizenship to get a foothold in the US. These are wealthy people flying first class. So legislate away at these wealthy birth tourists but that's not a reason to support taking away birthright citizenship.
There must be ways to promote more balanced paths to legal immigration. Though I understand a mother’s wish to have their child born in this country, I am aware of abuses of our system. When Hong Kong was about to return to Chinese rule in 1999, many women came here in there last months of pregnancy to have their children born here then returned to China with an American citizen child. It was an industry: housing, food, access to public hospitals. Yet, I can understand the motivation of a mother wishing to better her children. Can we limit abuse of the system in a humane way?
Well-said, you make some intelligent points, but it ALL matters. And if this shit show of an adminstration goes after SS and Medicare, look out. Save your ammo is right.
I'm not sure an RV meets his minimum bribe requirements anymore. Interesting idea, though. Between Clarence and Virginia, I'm not the sure who repulses me more, after those texts of her actively trying to overturn the election. By rights, SHE should've been charged and convicted. (And subsequently pardoned this week.)
I'm all for funding a one-way ticket to Mars for this guy, his like-minded buddy on the SC, and of course Der Fueher and his Muskrat. Maybe a few more too. Then they can happily build their dream vision of a brave new world and leave us alone.
They'll be cowering in little huts to avoid the solar radiation trying to get a few plants to grow. Maybe Muskrat and Der Fuehrer can lose some weight.
Can we drop the highbrow term "autocracy" please and offer a word that everyone who's ever heard the name of Hitler will recognize, which is "dictatorship"?
Thank you, Contrarian, for another powerful update. I’m staying strong, looking towards justice, dignity and the rule of law. Appreciate you all so much.
I needed this today! After reading morose posts last night from researchers and regulators at FDA and NIH who saw the orders yesterday as a death knell for health and science innovation, I was feeling like there were going to be NO bumps on the road to autocracy. Thank you! Keep these stories coming. There is no better motivation to stay involved than seeing success.
As an ESL teacher, all these immigrantion policies are pretty important to me, my colleagues, and my students. As a Citizenship Preparation teacher, the 14th Amendment issue is a particularly big deal for me and my students. The intention of course is to freak people out. It works, and as teachers we effort to keep our students on track with their language learning and *legal* citizenship goals.
I would like to also draw attention to the cancellation of the Afghan resettlement and asylum program that was cancelled on Tuesday. There are still individuals (and their family members) who aided the U.S. military that are stuck in Afghanistan or otherwise stranded after America's chaotic withdrawal. The background checks are extensive and time-consuming. It is unconscionable that the US treats people this way after they endangered their lives to assist the U.S. military against the Taliban in their country. And now we have left them high and dry, again. Just unconscionable.
Just learned from Joyce Vance, a few minutes ago that a federal judge in Seattle has issued a nationwide injunction against Trump‘s birthright policy. His illegal unconstitutional birthright policy it looks as though it will go directly to the Supreme Court and I completely believe the Supreme Court will agree that what Trump is doing is unconstitutional if they don’t agree to that, I think it’s time to impeach them
When referring to these Executive Orders, I suggest the authors refer to them to include the words “Project 2025” plan not just Trump. The Heritage Foundation masterminded most of the Executive Orders signed. They should have the blame tacked on them as well.
Great post. Although I considered myself informed I am embarrassed to say I had to look up what was LULAC . The Contrarian gives me so much hope. It just feels so good hearing your enthusiasm. Of course anyone who still has their Christmas tree up is my kind of person. Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for all your efforts.
I want to say this is unbelievable, but I suppose nothing is at this point. I have worked with the sovereign Native nations in my area for years. If they aren't American citizens, then what? I'm sure I don't want to imagine the answer.
Who are the DOJ attorneys arguing for this unconstitutional action? Just 3 days ago this wasn’t a thing, but now it is? How would these lawyers even have time to prepare for a hearing on this matter, unless they were given already prepared arguments from outside sources. Unreal.
We know that this will eventually reach the Supreme Court, and hopefully the “justices” will grow a pair and follow the constitution, unless musk & company have bought them off too.
It is likely that, like me, the only reason Donald Trump is an American citizen is that we were both born here. We are birthright citizens.
And in all probability your parents were American citizens too. Which means that no matter where you happened to be born you would still be an American citizen at birth. You are not a birthright citizen, you would be a citizen no matter where you were born.
"Facts" really assumptions, not in evidence.
This is much to do about nothing. This is a 14th amendment right. It’s sacrosanct. As much as I disagree with it, and I disagree with it because it has outlived its usefullness. It was enacted to protect the formerly enslaved from being sent to Africa. Today, it’s being abused by any woman who wants a foot in the American door and time her baby to pop out here. We have real big issues ahead of us. Wait until Medicare and Medicaid is reduced. Wait till your Social Security checks are reduced. Wait till the massive tax cuts made in 2017 for the wealthy are renewed. Wait until every move he makes to increase his God Damn fricken wealth for his billionaire Cabinet. But birthright citizenship? Are you kidding? Save your ammo for the real sheet about to hit the fan.
And who do you think helps fund Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security? There are plenty of immigrants who pay in to a system that they can never benefit from.
That is true. There are many immigrants who pay into Social Security who will not be able to use it.
Taxation without representation.
l
Bill, I submit that you have your priorities reversed. Yes, an attack on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will be an affront, but allowing a president to get away with unilaterally amending the Constitution would be the biggest "sheet" ever to hit the fan.
Bill. When a dictator wannabe moves against the constitution fighters fight. I disagree with you that this part of the constitution should be revised, but even if I agreed there is power in responding and not accepting unconstitutional decrees.
I said it was sacrosanct no need to spend so much energy.
There was extensive precedent for Roe v. Wade, and that got overturned. Yes, I am aware that wasn't a Constitutional amendment.
But you place a great deal of unwarranted faith in the fidelity of the current majority on the SCOTUS.
Well, there are only nine justices and Trump appointed three of them.
Yes, and he'll probably appoint more during this term.
Maybe that’s the problem in America. Don’t expend too much energy, let the powers that be take care of it, only now, it’s evident that wrong decisions are being made.
I will expend as much energy as want to people who talk about revising our Constitution without a vote frim the people. A fair vote note run by Elrond Musk.
There is extensive legal work supporting the Trump EO. Decisions before the 1898 Won Kim Ark ruling supported the view in the Trump EO. With this SCOTUS I'd say it is 50/50 that it is upheld.
Except birth rates are down among white women. Our population is aging and we don't have enough bodies to fill positions from those retiring. We need to beef up our educational systems and welcome new people and their children in order to have a viable workforce. So, the 14th has *not* outlived its usefulness.
Thanks for the common sense.
But hold a holy moment. I’m not against immigration. Why to you cast me in that light? I am against illegal immigration. That’s all. But my grandparents came here to Ellis island. I have one of their naturalization papers framed proudly on my wall. You are being unfair to me.
Bill, do you realize that there is no real way for people from the Southern countries to legally immigrate here? The immigrants to Ellis Island are white Europeans. At some point the white powers agreed to also allow people from Greece and Portugal to come here since they were almost white enough. They went to a lot of trouble to keep the Chinese people who came here to build the railroads from legally staying in the US. And there has never been a normal, legal way for people from South and Central America to come here. If you have a close relative here it could take 20 years for you to join them if you're from the South. For real.
In 1923, Congress passed The Immigration Act on account of too many were coming. Stop understanding this to be racist. The Irish were resoundingly not accepted in the quantity’s that arrived. Same for my people, the Italians and Eastern European Jews. Everyone has gotten the same treatment. Half of my people turned cities into mafia fiefdoms that took decades to eradicate.
Did the 1923 immigration act limit immigration of christian Brits, Germans, or other WASP groups?
Ellis Island Opened in Jan. 1892 & Closed in Nov. 1954. It is a museum now.
Well, I was born in 1951 And my mother in 1924 so my Grandparents actually did come through Ellis island. But they were white and spoke English having immigrated from Scotland so there was no one barring them.
A shame no one taught you how to spell Epictetus.
You left out his own kleptomania. A sitting president using the office to increase his own wealth by billions. I can hear George Washington's wooden teeth being ground into sawdust!
You are a person lacking compassion and historical perspective. This is how a demagogue dictator in the making dismantles the Constitution, as he has done before. You're also a misogynist, given your language about "popping" a baby out. If you had any idea about the birth process, you wouldn't be so foul-mouthed about it.
Just my opinion. Give me a break.
Why should I? Your opinion ought to be an informed one if you post it for the world to see.
Hum… what’s it called? The Contrarian? Hum…
For what it's worth, Bill, I'm ok with your opinion here. Not that I agree with you, but you raise issues that belong on the table. Fidelity to the Constitution is the core issue, not whether birthright citizenship should be conferred automatically.
These people are renowned journalists. What’s your qualifications?
Your opinion is uninformed, racist, and misogynistic.
"Contrarian" is not synonymous with "jackass." Or with "Y-chromosomal swine."
You can express your opinions about the need for immigration reform without alluding to racist tropes like anchor babies, and crudely inflicting your ignorance regarding the female reproductive system upon other readers by asserting that babies are "popped out."
Furthermore: women of color are STILL frequently denied any pain relief--much less adequate pain management--during childbirth because they are incorrectly thought to be less capable of feeling pain. By OBGYNs!!!
Your opinion is not that of a contrarian, and trying to hide behind that as defense is ignorant and deeply offensive on multiple counts.
Flattening the opposition for setting forth perspectives other than one's own is what got us into this mess. Partially. I don't see any reason anyone's views should align with yours or mine. That's because we aren't the same people, don't have the same life experiences, and in fact, don't line up in most ways. It's enough (for me) if someone with some views we don't like will, nevertheless, help us uphold democracy, so democracy survives. Fascism would devastate.
Well I don't know about you but there are those who can 'walk and chew gum'. We should fight and take to court any unconstitutional or illegal issue that arises. Save it? That's a defeatist attitude that gets us where we are. Hopeful there are many, many more brave ones out there like these fine lawyers and Contrarian crew that will step in going forward.
Let the people see all the outcomes all the way to supreme court. People have turned their heads for far too long.
It’s not much ado about nothing. Unless you’re an ostrich.
How did you know I was an ostrich?
After reading much on this topic, I’m changing my views on birthright citizenship. I’m not too old to understand the larger picture. As of this juncture, I now support it. Shocking right?
Really? " any woman who wants a foot in the American door and time her baby to pop out here" shows up to the US. What a disgusting misogynistic thing to put in print.
You know who does this? Rich foreigners! It's a cottage industry that caters to rich foreign women. Why? Because it's a status symbol. Birth tourists often make significant cash declarations upon entry to the United States. These declarations ranged from several thousand to several hundred thousand dollars. While most cash declarations ranged between $20,000 and $50,000, the TECS narrative for one birth tourist from 2019 reported a $301,400 cash declaration for medical expenses.
These are not your poor families sneaking across the border. Maria and Luis trying to get their kids a better life by crossing the border are not calculating how they can use birthright citizenship to get a foothold in the US. These are wealthy people flying first class. So legislate away at these wealthy birth tourists but that's not a reason to support taking away birthright citizenship.
There must be ways to promote more balanced paths to legal immigration. Though I understand a mother’s wish to have their child born in this country, I am aware of abuses of our system. When Hong Kong was about to return to Chinese rule in 1999, many women came here in there last months of pregnancy to have their children born here then returned to China with an American citizen child. It was an industry: housing, food, access to public hospitals. Yet, I can understand the motivation of a mother wishing to better her children. Can we limit abuse of the system in a humane way?
And that is what I have reacted to. Our immigration system is broken. I can easily straddle on this issue.
Well-said, you make some intelligent points, but it ALL matters. And if this shit show of an adminstration goes after SS and Medicare, look out. Save your ammo is right.
We will fight those too.
They own at least two. I count on them for nothing. They are a total disgrace. My heart breaks for my daughter and grandchildren.
It wouldn't hurt for us to pool resources and by Clarence Thomas a new RV.
I'm not sure an RV meets his minimum bribe requirements anymore. Interesting idea, though. Between Clarence and Virginia, I'm not the sure who repulses me more, after those texts of her actively trying to overturn the election. By rights, SHE should've been charged and convicted. (And subsequently pardoned this week.)
I'm all for funding a one-way ticket to Mars for this guy, his like-minded buddy on the SC, and of course Der Fueher and his Muskrat. Maybe a few more too. Then they can happily build their dream vision of a brave new world and leave us alone.
They'll be cowering in little huts to avoid the solar radiation trying to get a few plants to grow. Maybe Muskrat and Der Fuehrer can lose some weight.
Can we drop the highbrow term "autocracy" please and offer a word that everyone who's ever heard the name of Hitler will recognize, which is "dictatorship"?
Thanks for considering it.
Hey, Day One is over! And Trump said he would be a dictator on only Day One!
I mean, he DID say "only" didn't he? And he always keeps his word, doesn't he?
And there's the rub.
Thank you, Contrarian, for another powerful update. I’m staying strong, looking towards justice, dignity and the rule of law. Appreciate you all so much.
I also greatly appreciate our Contrarian. Thank you enormously!
Same here!
I needed this today! After reading morose posts last night from researchers and regulators at FDA and NIH who saw the orders yesterday as a death knell for health and science innovation, I was feeling like there were going to be NO bumps on the road to autocracy. Thank you! Keep these stories coming. There is no better motivation to stay involved than seeing success.
As an ESL teacher, all these immigrantion policies are pretty important to me, my colleagues, and my students. As a Citizenship Preparation teacher, the 14th Amendment issue is a particularly big deal for me and my students. The intention of course is to freak people out. It works, and as teachers we effort to keep our students on track with their language learning and *legal* citizenship goals.
I would like to also draw attention to the cancellation of the Afghan resettlement and asylum program that was cancelled on Tuesday. There are still individuals (and their family members) who aided the U.S. military that are stuck in Afghanistan or otherwise stranded after America's chaotic withdrawal. The background checks are extensive and time-consuming. It is unconscionable that the US treats people this way after they endangered their lives to assist the U.S. military against the Taliban in their country. And now we have left them high and dry, again. Just unconscionable.
Just learned from Joyce Vance, a few minutes ago that a federal judge in Seattle has issued a nationwide injunction against Trump‘s birthright policy. His illegal unconstitutional birthright policy it looks as though it will go directly to the Supreme Court and I completely believe the Supreme Court will agree that what Trump is doing is unconstitutional if they don’t agree to that, I think it’s time to impeach them
Our lawyers are better than their lawyers...
When referring to these Executive Orders, I suggest the authors refer to them to include the words “Project 2025” plan not just Trump. The Heritage Foundation masterminded most of the Executive Orders signed. They should have the blame tacked on them as well.
What a mess Trump is causing! And, that’s all he EVER does! Why on Earth would ANYBODY pick him for ANY job, let alone the top job in our Country?!
If being born in the USA does NOT make you a US citizen, then NONE of us….including Trump…..are US citizens!
How ridiculous!
However, I fear…..as I must with ALL issues…..what our incompetent Supreme Court will do with this issue. 🤞🙏😱
"Incompetent" Supreme Court? Is THAT what's wrong with them? And they can't be sacked?
Anne-Louise, “Yes”, because of bias, and, “No”, they can’t be sacked.
Justin, alas, I knew both answers - that was just my way of exposing the facts sarcastically.
👍!
I am in agreement with everything you said.
Sadly!
Great post. Although I considered myself informed I am embarrassed to say I had to look up what was LULAC . The Contrarian gives me so much hope. It just feels so good hearing your enthusiasm. Of course anyone who still has their Christmas tree up is my kind of person. Thanks again from the bottom of my heart for all your efforts.
Anything live tonight? It's been a rough day!
The DOJ tried to sweep Native Americans into the non-citizen group. https://www.salon.com/2025/01/23/excluding-indians-admin-questions-native-americans-birthright-citizenship-in/?fbclid=IwY2xjawH_lc1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHXodgF1wCylCmAD72dk8B8QO2_0hXHTb9O5GWCOBWqbg9iC43ybOwzZJKQ_aem_HVcYFZtXfG-66yniX-W0xQ
I want to say this is unbelievable, but I suppose nothing is at this point. I have worked with the sovereign Native nations in my area for years. If they aren't American citizens, then what? I'm sure I don't want to imagine the answer.
The transcript to this posting begins "This is Jen Rubin at the Contrary Inn."
Spending a few days at the Contrary Inn would be utterly blissful. How do we make reservations?
Who are the DOJ attorneys arguing for this unconstitutional action? Just 3 days ago this wasn’t a thing, but now it is? How would these lawyers even have time to prepare for a hearing on this matter, unless they were given already prepared arguments from outside sources. Unreal.
Thank you 👍🙏
But it's only temporary !!
Yes, I also read that it is a temporary halt. That condition worries me.