The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops made an ill-considered intervention in the legal battle over birthright citizenship. After taking office in 2025, Donald Trump issued an executive order stipulating that those in residence in the United States illegally are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, and thus their children do not qualify for birthright citizenship. The executive order was challenged in court. The Supreme Court will soon rule on the issue (Trump v. Barbara). The USCCB submitted an amicus brief in the case, urging the court to rule against Trump’s executive order.
The USCCB brief cites the modern Catholic magisterium’s affirmation of the inviolable dignity of every person. In matters of immigration law and its enforcement, this principle requires “a comprehensive and humane approach to migration that ensures the God-given dignity of all persons is respected.” Undoubtedly true. The USCCB goes on to say that birthright citizenship is “consistent with Catholic teaching.” That’s true as well. Many approaches to citizenship are consistent with Catholic teaching.
Then the brief takes a bizarre turn. It insists that any restriction on birthright citizenship is “immoral and contrary to the Catholic Church’s fundamental beliefs and teachings regarding the life and dignity of human persons, the treatment of vulnerable people—particularly migrants and children—and family unity.” In other words, unlimited and unrestricted birthright citizenship is required by Catholic doctrine.
This is a strange claim. When it comes to rights of citizenship, the United States is very much the exception, not the rule. Alone among rich countries, the U.S. and Canada offer unconditional birthright citizenship. Many Asian, European, and Middle Eastern countries confer citizenship in accord with the ancient principle of jus sanguinis (“right of blood”), not jus soli (“right of soil”). Almost all Asian countries restrict the right of citizenship in this way, as do many European countries. In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, jus soli applies only to children who have at least one parent who is a legal resident or citizen. This restriction of birthright citizenship is effectively the same as that stipulated by the Trump administration’s executive order.
In effect, America’s Catholic bishops are saying that the great majority of nations have immigration laws that violate essential Catholic teaching on the dignity of all persons. It’s a shocking position to take, but it does not surprise me. The Catechism of the Catholic Church allows (as does the amicus brief) that nations have a right to control their borders. Yet, on many occasions, Pope Francis denounced efforts to stem migration as “grave sin.” The present teaching of the Catholic Church on matters of migration is akin to its teaching on war. The contemporary Catholic Church incorporates just war doctrine in its official teaching, but her position has evolved toward functional pacifism. De jure, the Catholic Church allows for border control. De facto, it supports a nearly unlimited right of migration.
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