Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller sharply criticized the Supreme Court Tuesday night following its ruling striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship, arguing the justices’ interpretation of the Constitution is fundamentally flawed.
The comments came just hours after the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment guarantees automatic U.S. citizenship for virtually all children born in the United States, delivering a major setback to one of Trump’s signature immigration policies.
The high court issued a 6-3 opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, rejecting the president’s long-held argument that the Constitution does not guarantee birthright citizenship.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the ruling in a concurring opinion, writing that Trump’s executive order “doesn’t violate the 14th Amendment” but “does contravene a federal statute.” Kavanaugh added that Congress could change that statute.
Appearing on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” following the decision, Miller forcefully rejected the court’s interpretation of the Constitution and defended the administration’s position on citizenship.
“Just physically being on U.S. soil does not make you a citizen or qualified to carry on or capable of executing the inheritance of this country,” Miller said.
The deputy chief of staff argued that birthright citizenship, as interpreted by the court, diminishes the meaning of American citizenship.
“We have people from all over the world, from third-world nations, nations that on their own would have never invented the wheel, let alone modern technology, let alone medicine, let alone air travel. And they can just come into the country, have a baby at a hospital paid for by you and me, and then that baby is automatically a citizen?” Miller said.
He continued by questioning the long-term implications of automatic citizenship, saying those children could later serve on juries and participate in elections.
“That baby can sit on a jury when he turns 18 and sit in judgment of you and sit in judgment of me and sit in judgment of our loved ones? Can decide who our mayors are? Our governors are? Our presidents are?” Miller said, adding that “citizenship means nothing if it is open to everyone.”
Miller also used a hypothetical example to criticize the court’s interpretation of birthright citizenship.
Laughing during the interview, he said, “The idea that you could have a cruise ship filled with foreigners, and they just dock at a port for an hour and someone has a baby. Jesse, the baby is an American citizen! They can vote in every election for the rest of their lives! They can be living in a foreign country and cashing welfare checks from American citizens!”
Turning his attention directly to the Supreme Court, Miller argued that the justices had incorrectly interpreted the 14th Amendment.
“Look, I know that some of the justices who worked on this, they think that they’re so intelligent,” Miller said. “There is no possible reading of the 14th Amendment that applies to foreigners with foreign loyalties, foreign citizenship, foreign obligations, foreign everything.”
He concluded with a broader criticism of the court’s constitutional reasoning.
“And here’s another point, here’s a pretty good clue: Your constitutional interpretation is wrong. If your ruling requires you to suicide your civilization, your reading of the constitution is wrong,” Miller said.
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