In this episode, Richard Epstein and Martha Jones discuss the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Trump v. Barbara, which struck down President Trump’s Executive Order on birthright citizenship. At issue in the case was whether the Constitution guarantees citizenship to children born to parents unlawfully or temporarily present in the United States. The Court concluded that it did. Thomas Donnelly, lead scholar at the National Constitution Center, moderates.
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This episode was produced and mixed by Bill Pollock. It was recorded by David Stotz and Greg Schekler. With production support from Charles Sahm. Research was provided by Anna Salvatore, Trey Sullivan, and Tristan Worsham.
Participants
Richard Epstein is the inaugural Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, where he serves as Director of the Classical Liberal Institute. He is the author of numerous books including The Myth of Birthright Citizenship: What the Fourteenth Amendment Really Says, The Classical Liberal Constitution, and Design for Liberty.
Martha Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of numerous books, including Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America and The Trouble of Color.
Thomas Donnelly is lead scholar at the National Constitution Center. Prior to joining the Center in 2016, he served as counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Center, as a Climenko Fellow and lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, and as a law clerk to Judge Thomas Ambro on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
Additional Resources
- Trump v. Barbara (2026)
- Brief of Amicus Curiae Professor Richard A. Epstein
- Brief of Historians Martha S. Jones and Kate Masur as Amici Curiae
- “Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order in landmark decision,” Scott Bomboy for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog
- “In birthright citizenship opinions, a major constitutional disagreement,” Marcia Coyle for the National Constitution Center’s Constitution Daily Blog
- United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), National Constitution Center
- The Citizenship Clause, National Constitution Center
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