Trump's Push to Revisit Birthright Citizenship Sparks Controversy
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the Supreme Court to rehear the birthright citizenship case, following reports of billboards along the Southwest border advertising birth plans at U.S. hospitals.In a post to Truth Social, the president said there were "signs and billboards" going up along the U.S. border with Mexico, advertising that deliveries started at $4,000, adding, "Billions of Dollars will be illegally made by this SCAM, with Citizenship going to anyone willing to pay."Trump went on to call for the Supreme Court to rehear the birthright citizenship case, in which it recently rejected his attempt through executive order to alter the right mandated in the 14th Amendment."This miscarriage of justice will destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision," Trump wrote.The alleged scam to which Trump referred was believed to be an advertising campaign by the Mission Regional Medical Center (MRMC) in South Texas, which Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Tuesday was targeting illegal immigrants, offering them birth packages that would allow them to enter the U.S. to give birth to babies who would then be American citizens.A spokesperson for MRMC told Newsweek Wednesday evening that the marketing materials were "no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding."Newsweek reached out to the White House and Department of Justice for further comment Wednesday evening....Birth Package Billboards: What To KnowOn Tuesday, Abbott asked the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to open an investigation into the MRMC, accusing the hospital of targeting foreign nationals through advertisements in Mexico and of benefiting from birth tourism.The campaign offered deliveries starting at $3,950 for a natural birth, while C-sections were from $5,525, according to Fox News."Birth tourism is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year," Abbott said in a press release. "Thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children. HHSC must investigate the hospital, a facility it regulates, for any violations of state law and contractual obligations."MRMC confirmed that it was behind the advertising campaign, but added that the hospital did not support or facilitate unlawful activity.“Mission Regional Medical Center, a public nonprofit hospital, is committed to providing high-quality, compassionate healthcare and expanding access for the communities we serve. Like hospitals across the nation, we share information about the healthcare services we provide," a spokesperson told Newsweek. "We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations."MRMC intends to work with local and state officials on the matter, the spokesperson added. Trump, in his post, said that American citizenship was not for sale, calling the practice illegal.In recent days, Republicans in Congress have raised the issue of birth tourism, claiming it was a major issue facing the U.S. Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has introduced legislation seeking to ban pregnant immigrants and visitors who are not related to a U.S. citizen from entering the country.What Was the Birthright Citizenship Case About?The Trump administration had sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. if their parents were undocumented or held temporary legal status. Multiple lower courts blocked the policy before it reached the High Court.The June 30 ruling in Trump v. Barbara represented a major setback for the administration's efforts to narrow the scope of birthright citizenship through executive action.Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said children born in the United States "are citizens at birth," reaffirming longstanding interpretations of the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause. Roberts wrote that the framers of the amendment extended citizenship to "every free-born person in this land" and that the High Court was maintaining that promise.The decision preserved the legal framework established by the court's landmark 1898 ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that a child born in the U.S. to immigrant parents was an American citizen....Could SCOTUS Rehear the Case?While parties can ask the Supreme Court to reconsider a decision, such requests are rarely granted. Dave Aronberg, former Palm Beach County state attorney, told Newsweek on Wednesday, "This is a nonstarter. Under Court rules, a rehearing would require a monumental legal shift such as a newly passed statute, or evidence of direct fraud on the Court, rather than alleged third-party scams. The Court treats its final opinions as just that, making a judicial do-over virtually non-existent in modern legal history."Prominent constitutional law and criminal lawyer Alan Dershowitz also told Newsweek, "Petitions for rehearing are not unusual but they are rarely granted." Under Supreme Court Rule 44, a rehearing can also only be granted with the support of a majority of the justices, including at least one justice who was in the majority in the original ruling.Rehearings are generally viewed as long shots and while the Supreme Court receives such requests on a regular basis, it hardly ever changes course after issuing a major decision.Even Trump's own recent bid to have the court reconsider its refusal to hear his appeal in the E. Jean Carroll case was described in court filings as an unlikely effort because the justices very rarely grant rehearing requests.That means any effort to have the birthright citizenship case reheard would face steep procedural and historical odds, although the filing itself underscores how significant the administration considers the issue.Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Samantha Beech and Edward T. Cummins.
