Free Republic

The following offering on the “birthright citizenship” decision in Trump v. Barbara picks up where your humble servant’s initial offering left off. Specifically, it will address in greater detail the remote – yet now thanks to the Barbara decision – actual potential for the neutering of the Constitution’s “natural born Citizen” (“nbC”) presidential eligibility restriction, at least as understood by the Founders. By analogy, reading the Barbara majority opinion is like finding randomly arranged seashells on the beach cryptically messaging “86 – nbC.” Misguided, absurd …, and dangerous. There is as yet no confirmation of the rumor that James Comey...

The case against birthright citizenship seems straightforward and persuasive. Is it really right for an eight-month pregnant Mexican woman to illegally cross the Rio Grande, give birth, and be allowed to stay in America because her newborn child is now a natural born citizen? By the same token, is it just for a Chinese millionaire to have 100 children by surrogacy, arrange for them to be born in the US, and then move them back to China, where they are now US citizens and can later vote in US elections? That’s crazy, right? And these are not hypothetical or imaginary...

(Mar. 20, 2026) — As we enter the final days leading up to the oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, it may be prudent to review the briefs on the merits of President Trump and his opponents, as well as the myriad amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs that have been filed. To begin with, as your humble servant has posited here, the merits Opening Brief of the President, authored by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, is not merely persuasive, it is compelling. Read it for yourself. And as for the opposition’s merits brief, your servant has made his...