Since the 14th Amendment’s ratification 158 years ago, our Constitution has guaranteed the right of every baby to be born, bloom, and belong here. The Trump administration’s ham-fisted attacks on this right have always been utterly unsupported by the law, and we welcome today’s Supreme Court decision upholding birthright citizenship in much the same way we welcome the sun each day as it travels across the sky. But our awe and gratitude are reserved for the community members who united across race, geography, and time to stand up for a country where everyone has an equal right to live in the light.

It took courage for ordinary people like Bhagat Singh Thind and Wong Kim Ark to fight the federal government for the right to be American—the same courage that has brought countless families across oceans and rivers to become a part of our still-young democratic experiment. 

We are proud beyond words of the children and adults, educators and elders who joined AAPI NJ to ensure the 14th Amendment is taught in schools, share how their families’ stories have been shaped by birthright citizenship, and demonstrate our determination to flourish and belong here in front of the Supreme Court. 

We learned through the work of Teach Asian American Stories and programs like My Dinner with Wong Kim Ark that our roots run deep, and are stronger for being interwoven with those of other immigrant communities.

As we continue to stand together against racists who are trying to uproot us, we know Asian Americans in New Jersey will demonstrate the same courage with which they defended birthright citizenship, whether protecting our voting rights or fighting against the inhumanity of the federal detention and deportation machine.