The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, reaffirming the constitutional guarantees that nearly all children born on U.S. soil are citizens.
The ruling puts the court in line with the views of a majority of Americans, with 55 percent saying they oppose ending birthright citizenship in a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken last week.
That support is largely driven by Democrats, 72 percent of whom oppose ending birthright citizenship. They are joined by more than half of political independents, and a sizable 38 percent of Republicans who want to protect the right.
Under the surface, there is a wide chasm within the Republican Party on this issue. Most Republicans who identify with the MAGA movement want to end the practice, but among Republicans who said they did not identify with the MAGA movement, a majority are opposed to ending it, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll taken in April.
Protecting birthright citizenship is popular across most demographic groups. Majorities of white, Black and Hispanic Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship, and majorities say the same across age and income.
American attitudes toward birthright citizenship have evolved over the last three decades. In the early 1990s, Democrats — and all Americans — were largely split on the issue.
However, for about the last 15 years, there has been sustained support for the constitutional right.
The Times will occasionally feature polling that illustrates how Americans are feeling about the issues of the day. The numbers come from high-quality polls with a record for accuracy and rigorous methods.
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