Neutral Principles Files Its Maiden Brief in Birthright Citizenship Case

On February 26, 2026, Neutral Principles filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. Barbara, No. 25-365, advocating for a strict adherence to the well-understood original public meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. The brief argues that the words and combined phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States were well known at the time of the Fourteenth Amendment, referred to the lawful authority and power of a government’s laws and courts over, at a minimum, persons within the territorial bounds of that government, and thus presumptively covered all persons born in the United States.  And while jurisdiction over classes of persons could be ceded by law or treaty, as in the case of diplomatic immunity, that has not been done with regard to persons born of foreign parents present (lawfully or otherwise) in the United States. It also notes that abdicating such jurisdiction on a prospective basis, though constitutionally permissible, would carry a severe cost of ceding law enforcement authority over such persons, contrary to the frequent exercise of such authority by the present and past administrations alike.
​
You can read the full brief here and find all of the other filings in the case here.