Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a lengthy dissent criticizing the high court's majority ruling against President Donald Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship, saying the decision would effectively devalue American citizenship as it was understood by those who created the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses for an official portrait at the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesThomas said the majority is attempting to repurpose the 14th Amendment "to protect its own set of preferred rights that the Reconstruction Congress never contemplated and that cannot find support in its text," referring to the post-Civil War era of the mid-to-late 19th century.
Further, he argued that the June 30 ruling denigrates the idea of U.S. citizenship, saying that it has been used by "foreign birth tourists and illegal aliens."
"I am not sure that today's opinion will stand the test of time," Thomas wrote. "The Citizenship Clause 'added greatly to the dignity and glory of American citizenship.' Today's opinion devalues that citizenship."
The order issued by Trump aimed to exclude children of illegal immigrants
