Birthright Citizenship and Native Americans

In this episode, we examine the Supreme Court’s latest birthright citizenship argument through a Native American lens. What happens when the justices revisit the Fourteenth Amendment’s phrase “subject to the jurisdiction,” and how does that language connect to the long history of tribal sovereignty, Native citizenship, and federal power? We break down the April 1, 2026, argument in Trump v. Barbara, including the exchange in which Justice Gorsuch pressed the Trump administration on whether its theory would have excluded Native Americans from birthright citizenship under the original understanding of the Constitution. We also look at Justice Sotomayor’s defense of tribal nations as distinct political communities and Justice Barrett’s questions about whether Native citizenship history can fit inside a rigid originalist framework. This episode explores why a case framed around immigration also carries deep meaning in Indian Country and what it reveals about belonging, jurisdiction, and sovereignty in American law.