Scholars’ Circle – SCOTUS Decisions: Birthright Citizenship and Refugee Rights – July 5, 2026

Scholars’ Circle – SCOTUS Decisions: Birthright Citizenship and Refugee Rights – July 5, 2026

July 6, 2026 · 58 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of recent US Supreme Court decisions on birthright citizenship and refugee rights.

The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, Section 1 reads as follows: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” So all persons born in the US are citizens. We call this Birthright Citizenship. In Trump v Barbara, the US Supreme Court agreed. But only 5 of the 9 justices agreed. So what was the decision of the Court in this case, and what is the status of citizenship in the US? And how does it relate to the two asylum cases the Supreme Court decided, on temporary protective status or TPS and on where a person can claim asylum. On today’s show, we discuss the US and immigration and asylum. [ dur: 58mins. ] Naomi Paik is Associate Professor of Global Asian Studies and Criminology, Law and Justice at University of Illinois, Chicago. She is the author of Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding U.S. Immigration for the 21st Century and Rightlessness: Testimony and Redress in U.S. Prison Camps since World War II , winner, Best Book in History. Gabriel “Jack” Chin is Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of Clinical Legal Education at UC…

People in this episode

Guests: Naomi Paik, Gabriel “Jack” Chin

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Illinois, Chicago, UC Davies School of Law

Books & works: Bans, Walls, Raids, Sanctuary: Understanding U.S. Immigration for the 21st Century, Rightlessness: Testimony and Redress in U.S. Prison Camps since World War II, Birthright Citizenship, Slave Trade Legislation, and the Origins of Federal Immigration Regulation

Places: United States

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