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On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States whose parents are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents. Federal judges across the country issued preliminary injunctions preventing the order from taking effect.
In early December 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the lawsuit challenging the president’s executive order. On April 1, the court heard oral arguments from attorneys representing the Trump administration and the respondents, Barbara.
On June 30, 2026, the court ruled 6-3 in favor of Barbara.
“Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
Jeanie Wallace, vice chair of the San Benito County Democratic Central Committee, said she was “stunned” when she learned the question of birthright citizenship would be heard by the Supreme Court.
“No president, in all of time, has tried to challenge this,” Wallace said. “It’s stunning that it’s gotten enough traction to even become a Supreme Court case and that a president would issue an executive order trying to nullify that part of the Constitution, but I am grateful that the Supreme Court agreed to take it on.”
Wallace said she was disappointed the ruling was not unanimous, but she was grateful it was decided by a 6-3 vote rather than 5-4.
“I think that the ruling protects not only the individuals whose birthright citizenship was being challenged, but communities across the country, including right here in San Benito County,” Wallace said.
“Babies can’t choose their parents. They don’t choose where they’re born, but if they’re born on American soil, we’ve always, since 1868, acknowledged that they are us,” Wallace said. “We have never denied birthright citizenship, even to babies who are born to tourists who are just here on vacation, so why would we deny it to someone who has been born and raised here?”
“I’m very pleased that the court ruled in favor of upholding and honoring the rights of everyone born in this country,” Wallace said.
Former Hollister School District trustee Rob Bernosky is an advocate for a constitutional amendment limiting birthright citizenship to children of citizens.
“For decades, we as a nation have not taken border protection seriously enough, and then the Biden Administration took it to pretty much just plain open borders,” Bernosky, a Republican, said. “California embraces open borders and encourages it by subsidizing healthcare, housing, food and other amenities for illegals, which is the primary reason our taxes and housing costs are the highest in the nation.”
Bernosky says legislators of the 14th Amendment did not intend for individuals to “nefariously” come to the U.S. and have children who would become citizens, it was only “intended for newly freed slaves and their children.”
“Unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s hands are tied because of the way the law is written,” he said. “We as a nation need to come together and revalidate the greatness of our country, the freedoms we enjoy, and amend the constitution to stop birthright citizenship and other negatives that have always been there, but greatly exasperated by those who have been effectively working against what the founders intended.”
Bernosky says he encourages people to keep in mind the intentions of individuals who want to come to the U.S.
“We want people to come here, but do it legally and with the best intent,” Bernosky said.
When Thomas Welch, president of the San Benito County League of United Latin American Citizens, also known as LULAC, learned the Supreme Court would hear the birthright citizenship case, he and fellow members began discussing its potential impact on the local Latino community.
“When birthright citizenship came into play from the administration, it definitely raised concerns and worry,” Welch said.
Welch said many people who were born in the United States to immigrant parents were concerned about how the case could affect them.
“I was glad to see the justices were aligned with a constitutional amendment that has already been interpreted to protect citizens and all persons within the United States and that was continuing to move forward,” Welch said. “It was something positive to see the justices do.”
Moving forward from the June 30 ruling, Welch said he hopes communities gain a better understanding of the 14th Amendment and that the decision encourages people to pursue more humane immigration solutions.
“I hope it inspires people to build partnerships again and to create dialogue again so that we can go back to remembering what it is to be human,” he said.
Mickie Luna, president of the San Benito County Latino Coalition, said she was surprised when she learned the Supreme Court would hear the birthright citizenship case.
“Why should it be taken to the Supreme Court?” Luna said. “It has been part of the Constitution all along, so I questioned it.”
Luna, a first-generation Mexican American whose parents emigrated from Mexico, said her six brothers served in the U.S. armed forces.
“Personally it would have affected me as a person born in the United States in Hollister, California,” Luna said. “I would have not been considered a citizen of the United States. There should be no question about it. We are citizens of the United States and we will remain citizens of the United States.”
Prominent Republican and Hollister Planning Commissioner Peter Hernandez said his understanding “is that the issue today is loyalty and a sense of allegiance to this country.”
“That’s my basic concern,” Hernandez said. “It’s not that we don’t want to have a chance for individuals to have an opportunity to become citizens, whether they were born here or not. The most important thing is where their loyalty is to.”
Hernandez said he is also concerned about birth tourism, specifically people from countries such as China coming to the U.S. and having children for the purpose of being U.S. citizens.
“Birth tourism is intentional by nations that hate us like China. They send children here to ‘only’ be born, then are sent back to communist China ensuring their minds are formed and informed by communist thinking,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said this ensures these children vote in U.S. elections in the interest of foreign countries.
“For those people that want to exploit this country, I think it’d be very easy for them to enjoy this ruling,” Hernandez said. “It minimizes boundaries and it maximizes exploitation.”
BenitoLink reached out to the San Benito County Republican Party and party chair JW Paine for comment but received no response.
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
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