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Trump’s presence in the courtroom signaled a rare executive branch power play - as the first sitting president to attend an oral argument, his appearance was seen as an attempt to personally witness and potentially pressure the justices deciding his birthright citizenship order.
“The first sitting president to be in the Supreme Court courtroom for an oral argument and to be sitting there as the justices were debating birthright citizenship.”
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The administration's legal argument rests on a narrow definition of domicile - Solicitor General John Sauer argued that the 14th Amendment's 'jurisdiction' clause requires an intent to stay and legal status, excluding children of undocumented immigrants from automatic citizenship.
“In 1884, this court recognized that subject to the jurisdiction means owing direct and immediate allegiance. The clause thus does not extend citizenship to the children of temporary visa holders or illegal aliens.”
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Chief Justice Roberts expressed immediate skepticism toward the government's theory - by labeling the administration’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment as 'quirky,' Roberts highlighted the significant legal hurdle of overturning a century of settled precedent.
“You obviously put a lot of weight on subject to the jurisdiction thereof. But the examples you give to support that strike me as very quirky.”