Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Next month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara. It’s still somewhat unbelievable that the high court will entertain arguments in favor of gutting an utterly clear constitutional commitment. Nonetheless, our motto on Amicus is “legal knowledge is power,” and in this case, historical understanding of legal knowledge … is power. On this week’s show, Dahlia Lithwick interviews constitutional and immigration scholar Anna O. Law about her forthcoming book, Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship.
In preparation for a lot of very bad originalist takes, Lithwick and Law discuss how immigration actually worked in the colonial and pre-Civil War eras and why the framers of the Reconstruction Amendments (including the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment) meant exactly what they said and said exactly what they meant. Law also explains how and why Wong Kim Ark affirmed birthright citizenship for children of Chinese immigrants, and emphasizes that the words “subject to the jurisdiction” had narrow historical exceptions. Finally, a reminder that the framers of the 14th Amendment chose to constitutionalize citizenship rather than establish it in statute—in anticipation of exactly the situation America finds itself in today.
Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl). Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus (slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen.
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Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.
Follow Amicus on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=ng-3tjDvFUM&list=PLYjxRBfBp4sz9wJ6z55aeBGvJYkThJ6Pa
Subscribe to Slate: youtube.com/slate
Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/amicus
Follow Slate on Social:
Host Dahlia Lithwick on Twitter: twitter.com/Dahlialithwick
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Slate Podcasts on Twitter - twitter.com/SlatePodcasts
Slate on Facebook: facebook.com/slate
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Next month, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the birthright citizenship case, Trump v. Barbara. It’s still somewhat unbelievable that the high court will entertain arguments in favor of gutting an utterly clear constitutional commitment. Nonetheless, our motto on Amicus is “legal knowledge is power,” and in this case, historical understanding of legal knowledge … is power. On this week’s show, Dahlia Lithwick interviews constitutional and immigration scholar Anna O. Law about her forthcoming book, Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship.
In preparation for a lot of very bad originalist takes, Lithwick and Law discuss how immigration actually worked in the colonial and pre-Civil War eras and why the framers of the Reconstruction Amendments (including the birthright citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment) meant exactly what they said and said exactly what they meant. Law also explains how and why Wong Kim Ark affirmed birthright citizenship for children of Chinese immigrants, and emphasizes that the words “subject to the jurisdiction” had narrow historical exceptions. Finally, a reminder that the framers of the 14th Amendment chose to constitutionalize citizenship rather than establish it in statute—in anticipation of exactly the situation America finds itself in today.
Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can subscribe directly from the Amicus show page on Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/amicus-with-dahlia-lithwick-law-justice-and-the-courts/id928790786) and Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/7DpL32jgjwBTah8o9HQkBl). Or, visit slate.com/amicusplus (slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=Amicus&utm_source=show_summary) to get access wherever you listen.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.
Follow Amicus on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=ng-3tjDvFUM&list=PLYjxRBfBp4sz9wJ6z55aeBGvJYkThJ6Pa
Subscribe to Slate: youtube.com/slate
Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/amicus
Follow Slate on Social:
Host Dahlia Lithwick on Twitter: twitter.com/Dahlialithwick
Slate on Twitter - twitter.com/slate
Slate Podcasts on Twitter - twitter.com/SlatePodcasts
Slate on Facebook: facebook.com/slate
Slate on Instagram: instagram.com/slate
