Contrarians to the Rescue on Birthright Citizenship!

Publisher's Roundup 26

A couple of weeks ago, when the Roberts Court struck down some nationwide injunctions protecting birthright citizenship in the Casa case, we here at The Contrarian told you not to panic. The Court left the door open for other nationwide relief, including through class actions to protect the right of every child born here to U.S. citizenship. My colleagues and I immediately filed such a class action, and on Thursday we and our wonderful partners secured a major win: the first class certification and accompanying injunction protecting birthright citizenship nationwide from the Trump administration’s attack. This is just the latest success in the more than 100 legal matters—with more to come—that our paying subscribers make possible.

Thursday’s ruling provides relief to anxious migrant parents across the country who were not sure of the status of their children after the Casa case. As I explained in my publisher’s note two weeks ago, the Roberts Court ruled that judges in a single judicial district covering a discrete geographic area cannot simply go from a constitutional or other legal violation to establish a nationwide injunction.

Instead, the court held that litigants need to use other vehicles, such as a class action. That is a lawsuit in which one or more plaintiffs (the class representatives) sue on behalf of a larger group under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. The Roberts Court reasoned that Congress recognized this vehicle as the way to get a nationwide injunction based on the court “certifying” a class—that is, accepting the class plaintiffs’ submission that they were similar enough to others nationwide that they could stand in for all of them.

As I wrote in that earlier column, we immediately took the court up on that suggestion, filing a class action within a couple of hours on behalf of our clients with our wonderful co-counsel. They include the ACLU, LULAC, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and the Asian Law Caucus. We requested and got expedited treatment from Judge Joseph Laplante in the District of New Hampshire—filing our complaint on June 27 and having an argument and a decision by July 10.

My disagreement with the Roberts Court here remains fervent, and I believe the Supreme Court dissents got it right–but I do think that our initial assessment in real time here at The Contrarian has been borne out, at least so far. By contrast to the extreme catastrophizing of some, we noted that though one door had been closed by the court on national injunctions, others had been opened—and that we could run through it rapidly. That is exactly what has happened.

This success in the court of law importantly is also being tracked in the court of public opinion. A brand new Gallup poll shows that a record-high 79% of Americans consider immigration good for the country. A majority of Americans favor a pathway to citizenship for immigrants (85% for children who were brought to America illegally and 78% for adults), while a minority believe that all immigrants ought to be deported (38%)—the exact opposite of Trump’s draconian approach to the immigration issue. Indeed, it’s reasonable to believe that his gross, inhumane, and illegal overreach is driving the American people and reminding them of their innate decency and the fact that we are a nation of immigrants.

Now what? The judge stayed his ruling for seven days to allow the Trump administration to take an emergency appeal to the First Circuit and even to the Roberts Court, should they so choose. As I write this, the Department of Justice has not yet filed a notice of appeal. I suspect that it will, but I have to wonder how much of a hurry it will be in to have higher courts disagree with it. The class-action reasoning here is impeccable and similar to thousands of other class actions that have held up on appeal, including at SCOTUS.

More fundamentally, the underlying birthright citizenship argument is a dead loser for Trump. That is because the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution very clearly says that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." Contrary to the president’s assertion, it was not only “meant for the babies of slaves.”

It's not just the plain language. Because the Fourteenth Amendment has long been interpreted by SCOTUS and other courts to apply to all who are born here, precedent is also on our side. And so is the “originalist” interpretative approach that the Roberts Court relies on. Contemporary sources and the legislative history at the time of the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment make clear that it means what it says: all “persons” born here are citizens.

Of course, that will not stop the administration from continuing this battle, and we stand ready to swing into action on any appeals, up to and including the Supreme Court–thanks in no small part to you! Because here at The Contrarian we are owned by no one, all profits from our paid subscriptions go to fund this litigation and our many other cases and wins–existing and to come. If you’re not a paid subscriber, please consider becoming one so that you, too, can be a part of the ongoing fight. It’s the most unique bargain in American journalism. You get all of our great Contrarian coverage every day, plus your support is actually making a difference in court.

Speaking of that great coverage, it was another remarkable week for our team….

The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement

This week saw scientists stage a "science fair" in the lobby of a congressional building to demonstrate the knowledge that would be lost as a result of canceled research grants, a Palm Beach ‘Trump Baby’ parade, anti-ICE protestors taking a stand outside Home Depot, Tesla takedowns, defenders of gender-affirming care, and more Americans exercising their first-amendment rights across the country.

Plus this was a big week of planning for the National Day of Action on July 17, 2025—mark your calendars to prove that Good Trouble Lives On. Over 1500 events have been scheduled coast-to-coast—and counting! The flagship event will be held in Chicago, IL, with additional anchor events to be held in Atlanta, GA, St. Louis, MO, Annapolis, MD and Oakland, CA. Visit the event website to find an event near you and for more information: https://goodtroubleliveson.org/.

The Big, Betrayal of a Bill –continuing fallout and what’s next

Black America can't afford to wait as Trump's budget wrecks our communities

Bishop Reginald T. Jackson wrote on how the budget bill’s cruel gutting of essential programs like Medicaid, SNAP, and student aid will hit Black communities hardest of all—and how waiting for the next election to act in protest is not an option.

The GOP's budget bill will hurt America’s global standing

Tom Malinowski laid out how reconciliation bill will benefit our adversaries as it erodes American welfare, while also finding a glimmer of hope in the form of one regulatory fight democrats are leveraged to win: "There is a broad constituency, including among many Trump voters, for stopping the harm Big Tech does to our kids and our democracy."

Force Republicans to run on the big, ugly bill

Jen Rubin argued that Democrats must meet the GOP’s debt-ballooning, growth-kneecapping, healthcare-withering failure of a budget with a clear and concise policy agenda: Do the opposite. “When the incumbent party manages to get just about everything wrong…looking ahead to 2026, the Democrats' agenda writes itself."

Only the wrong kinds of global intervention

JFK cited America’s ‘moral obligations’ in urging creation of USAID

Frederic Frommer wrote on the end of USAID, 64 years after JFK cited "moral obligations as a wise leader and good neighbor in the interdependent community of free nations" in calling for the agency's creation. For an administration that couldn’t care less about being a good neighbor, Frommer reported on the irony of dismantling a Cold War-era triumph in soft power—lost to no one except those doing the dismantling.

Cutting USAID will kill millions

A eulogy for the program that represents the best of America, the end of which could cause 14 million deaths over the next five years and millions more via related cuts to PEPFAR.

Trump’s attack on Iran and restoring constitutional war powers

Brian Finucane, senior adviser to the U.S. Program at the International Crisis Group, analyzed how Trump’s strike on Iran marked another step toward unchecked presidential war-making, bypassing Congress and risking escalation. "This framework invests far broader power in one person than the text of the Constitution provides for or that Congress or the courts have endorsed."

In Ukraine, Who's Winning and Losing?

Marvin Kalb wrote on how Trump treats Ukraine like a card game, ignoring the bloodshed, chaos, and global stakes, playing a losing hand in more ways than one. "If neither Trump nor Putin emerges as the winner of the Ukraine war...then the winner in this card game may well turn out to be Zelensky, arguably the weakest of the three players—and the one, Trump believed, who had no cards in the game but who still played with endurance and grit."

Behind, between and betwixt the headlines

Cartoonists Nick Anderson, RJ Matson, and Michael de Adder took on the tragedy of the Texas flood this week, putting on blast the negligence, greed and shortsightedness of an administration that has gutted disaster preparedness and denied the relationship between extreme weather and climate change: 'There's floodin' down in Texas'; A 100-years flood; and Help is here!.

What the attacks on Mamdani reveal about us

Shalise Manza Young took a closer look at the alarmist, often Islamophobic reactions to Zohran Mamdani’s victory in NYC’s mayoral primary last month—from Trump smears to mainstream media hit jobs. “The status quo isn’t working for the majority of New Yorkers in the same way it isn’t working for the majority of Americans. Zohran Mamdani isn’t the status quo, and that’s the point.”

What the Sean Combs verdict told us about understanding abuse

Mimi Rocah and Berit Berger explained how the verdict in the Sean “Diddy” Combs case, which saw him acquitted of the most serious charges, revealed deep failures in how we understand abuse and consent. "The fact that antiquated arguments about what consent looks like when it comes from a victim of abuse are still presented with confidence in court means that we have much more work to do."

Most of the media’s ‘deficit hawks’ don’t exist

Josh Levs wrote on the undying zombie-like myth of the GOP’s fiscal responsibility. That canard is perpetuated by big news organizations playing along with the charade. Incredibly, they are doing so despite the fact that Republicans—who once slammed Biden for raising the debt ceiling—have just quietly backed a $5 trillion hike of their own. Like zombies, it is unbelievable story, but unlike them, it is for real.

The digital age, for better and worse

Draft Jokes and Drone Strikes: The Dark Humor of a Doomed Generation

Olivia Julianna wrote on how Gen Z has greeted the newly-trending specter of WWIII the same way they’ve processed a lifetime of tumultuous headlines: posting through it, turning fear into memes and pain into protest. “For a generation raised on the internet and shaped by crisis, nihilistic humor isn’t just comedy, it’s emotional survival.”

What LinkedIn Told Me This Weekend About U.S. National Security

Brian O’Neill reported on the sobering experience of finding his post-CIA LinkedIn profile flooded not with job chatter but with urgent messages from national security officers past and present. “They weren’t leaking. They were confirming. Not the facts—I didn’t need that—but the feeling: that a breach had occurred in the institutional contract, and no one wanted to pretend otherwise anymore.”

Puppet Theater

Meghan Houser told us how to achieve a headline like “Fake AI voice impersonating Secretary of State Marco Rubio contacts foreign ministers and US officials” five months into a presidency: just gut cybersecurity, ignore protocol, install a glitching hologram as Secretary of State, and voilà!

Fighting back: heroes and how-tos

The spectacular E. Jean Carroll in conversation with Jen Rubin

Author and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll joined Jen Rubin to discuss her experience in the courtroom with Trump, life as a NYC journalist in the 1980s, the (atrocious) “moral influence” of our benighted president, and how women can save democracy. "If an old lady of 81 can beat him, anybody can beat Donald Trump.”

United Steelworkers pledge to hold Trump, Nippon, U.S. Steel accountable

David McCall, international president of the United Steelworkers, wrote on how Trump sold out American steelworkers to push through Nippon’s takeover of U.S. Steel—and how union members stand ready to fight for jobs, communities, and the future of U.S. manufacturing." Politicians come and go. Executives cash out. But USW members dig in to protect what we built. We’re the backbone of America, here to stay, ready to fight."

Undaunted in calling out the worst Supreme Court in modern times

In her Undaunted column this week, Jen Rubin highlighted the heroic dissenter of the Roberts Court: Kenji Brown Jackson, who won’t allow her conservative colleagues’ pretense of impartiality. “We salute her integrity, and pine for the day when she gets a sufficient number of colleagues to reestablish the court’s role as a guardian of civil rights.”

Have a wonderful weekend, friends. Jen and I look forward to seeing you at 9:15 AM Eastern on Monday for Coffee with the Contrarians. See you then. Warmly, Norm