Birthright citizenship ruling welcomed, but Trump administration ‘still the same,’ NV activists warn

“When the 14th Amendment is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,” Rico Ocampo and Las Vegas advocates chanted while celebrating Tuesday’s Supreme Court’s decision to uphold birthright citizenship. 

Inside the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada’s office in Las Vegas, the Nevada Immigration Coalition held a press conference to discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on the 14th Amendment in a 6-3 vote. 

Noé Orosco with the Nevada Immigration Coalition, warned Tuesday’s ruling does not make immigrants any less vulnerable. 

“While the 14th Amendment was upheld today, we do not mistake today’s ruling for security or safety,” Orosco said. “Because one decision does not undo a pattern. Whether targeting the Constitutional rights to birthright citizenship, TPS, DACA, asylum, humanitarian protections, or other laws and legal protections, the objective of the Trump administration is the same. Strip people of their rights, make more families vulnerable, and make more people deported.” 

Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump order

“When the ACLU took on this case and argued it,” said Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union Athar Haseebullah, “after the president on his first day in office issued this executive order, we did so because of the requirement to protect our civil liberties and civil rights and our Constitution.”

Immigrant communities also feel “screwed over” by the Supreme Court, following last week’s ruling to end temporary protected status for Haitians and Syrians, Haseebullah said. 

While advocates celebrated the victory, they noted the fight for rights is far from over. Make the Road Nevada’s Supervising Attorney Cristian Gonzalez Perez pointed to the narrowness of a ruling that almost overturned the Constitution. 

“It’s a victory, yes, but we have to be concerned, said Gonzalez Perez. “Instead of a 9-0 decision, it came pretty narrow, a 6-3 decision as to the executive order violates the law, but a 5-4 on whether or not it violates the 14th Amendment,” Gonzalez Perez said. 

The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) voiced the same concern about the closeness of the Supreme Court’s ruling. 

“We cannot ignore how close so many came to losing these fundamental protections,” NPNA Executive Director Nicole Melaku said. “This journey has made clear to us, our members, and allies that this administration will stop at nothing in its attempt to rewrite the story of this nation and decide who gets to thrive.” 

The Nevada immigrant community has been on edge about Donald Trump’s executive order banning birthright citizenship since he issued it the day he was inaugurated in 2025. 

“A lot of uncertainty; a lot of community members were asking, ‘Has this happened? Does this mean that we’re no longer going to be citizens? How far back is it going to go?’” Orosco said. “There was just so much uncertainty, and it was hard as a coalition to be able to provide them with concrete guidance because there was no indication how the court was going to rule.” 

With the 14th Amendment directly targeting children of immigrants, local teens feel the weight of this decision, said Maria Pena, a teacher at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, and another speaker at the press conference.

“In the realm of my career, in my classroom, it was very exciting to know that the citizenship of my students is no longer at question,” said Maria Pena, a teacher at Desert Pines High School. “Many of my students had…worries that [their citizenship would] still be questioned. Although they’re 15, 17 years old, this will come into question because of their family’s legal status.” 

Focusing on school became harder as students waited for the court’s ruling, Pena added. 

“This is something that prevented them from fully concentrating on their studies,” Pena said. 

NV Dems Chair Daniele Monroe-Moreno released a statement calling out Nevada Republicans’ silence regarding the Supreme Court case. 

“The ruling underscores just how out of touch Nevada Republicans have become,” Monroe-Moreno said. “Rather than defending the Constitution, they refused to stand up to Trump’s baseless effort to strip American-born children of their citizenship, cowering to Trump’s will over the rule of law. Even as some of Trump’s handpicked Supreme Court justices battle down this egregious assault on our Constitution, Joe Lombardo and Nevada Republicans stay silent.” 

Noting Trump made an unprecedented visit to the Supreme Court during oral arguments on April 1 of this year, Dr. Marcella Rodriguez-Campo, who attended the press conference, noted Trump failed to sway votes.

“I think it was interesting that he was there; it definitely was an intimidation tactic for him to show up in that way,” Rodriguez-Campo said. “But, you know, our community is undeterred. It’s laughable that he thought that he was gonna be able to get away with this. And this triumph that our community has seen speaks to just our resilience and the fact that we do not give up, and that we’re gonna continue to fight for a better future for all of us.” 

“Today, the Supreme Court upheld a fundamental American value: if you’re born in the United States, you’re an American citizen,” said Nevada Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in a statement. “There is no question – birthright citizenship has been and will continue to be a part of our Constitution. It’s past time for the attacks on our nation’s core ideals to end.”

“It has always been clear: a child born in the United States is an American citizen,” said Nevada Democratic U.S. Senator Rosen in a separate statement. “I applaud the Supreme Court’s decision today to defend the U.S. Constitution and honor the right to automatic citizenship for all U.S.-born children. Today’s decision also makes clear that Donald Trump is not above the law, and he cannot unilaterally take away anyone’s constitutional rights.”