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It was a high-pressure moment when Cecillia Wang stepped into the U.S. Supreme Court in April to deliver oral arguments defending birthright citizenship. But, she said, she had the spirit of millions of Americans’ ancestors with her.
“I felt a lot of the weight of all those hopes and aspirations, and really a belief in the promise of this country, that birthright citizenship is so much a part of the fabric of what it means to be an American,” Wang said.
In the landmark case Trump v. Barbara, Wang — the national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union — challenged President Donald Trump’s executive order, which seeks to deny U.S. citizenship to babies whose parents aren’t citizens or permanent legal residents.
The Supreme Court is expected to hand down its highly anticipated ruling by the end of the month.
Birthright citizenship is just one of the landmark legal victories won by 19th-century Chinese immigrants. Their court battles helped secure constitutional protections that remain at the center of today’s debates over citizenship, due process and democracy. As the nation approaches its 250th anniversary, Asian American historians, legal scholars and civil rights advocates say those contributions remain largely absent from the national narrative, even as the rights they helped establish face renewed challenges.
✍️: Cecilia Lei
🎥: Martin do Nascimento, Gina Castro
🎬: Martin do Nascimento, Gina Castro