The Provincial Council for the Clerics of St. Viator, Province of Chicago, has signed an amicus brief filed to the Supreme Court for the case Trump v. Barbara, in which dozens of faith-based organizations support arguments in favor of birthright citizenship.
“The 57 amici are all faith-based organizations representing a cross-section of religious traditions, including Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews. Each has found a home in the United States. Each has flourished here. Each has benefited from the guarantees of the Constitution,” the brief says of these organizations.
“Birthright citizenship as embodied in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment demonstrates a commitment by the United States to welcome the stranger. That value is central to each of amici’s faiths. As recognized in amici’s religious texts, welcoming the stranger is a broadly shared and indelible ethic,” the brief argues. “The Citizenship Clause represents the apotheosis of this value by extending the same citizenship rights possessed by one’s own children to the children of the stranger.”
“The Viatorians’ support of birthright citizenship stems from our respect for every human being born in the image and likeness of God,” Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial said. “It represents one of the most respected legal principles of the US Republic — our society is formed by human beings from a wide range of backgrounds who have come to these shores in search of a better life. As a society, we gladly welcome those being born within our borders as one of us, capable of contributing to the common good and people endowed with equal rights before the law.”
Trump v. Barbara deals with an executive order by President Donald Trump that denies birthright citizenship to babies born in the US to parents without permanent legal status after February 19, 2025. Immediate legal challenges ensued, asserting that this order violates the Constitution, Supreme Court precedents, and federal statutes. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued on behalf of all affected individuals, and the case is now before the Supreme Court. In the meantime, class-action status for the legal actions have led to nationwide injunctions preventing enforcement of this executive order.
When cases reach the Supreme Court (and lower courts, too), people and groups who are not direct parties to the case that nonetheless have a strong interest in the issue at hand may file amicus curiae briefs – from a Latin phrase for “friend of the court.” These briefs can offer persuasive, detailed cases to inform and influence the court’s deliberations about the case.
In Trump v. Barbara, the law firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb, and Tyler LLP of New York has filed such a brief on behalf of faith-based organizations. The brief goes into detail advocating for birthright citizenship as one of many fundamental and essentially American ways to welcome the stranger in this country.
The Provincial Council signed on behalf of our community, joining interfaith partners as well as fellow Catholic organizations such as the NETWORK Lobby for Social Justice, the Hope Border Institute, and several women’s religious congregations.
Viatorians are called to read the signs of the times, identify people who society is accounting of little importance, and act to stand with and for these people. As people in immigration face particularly aggressive, unjust, and erratic enforcement actions, this is one of the many ways our community is acting to uphold and uplift these sisters and brothers.