 |
CHINATOWN / FACEBOOK San Francisco's Chinatown unveiled its newest mural hooring Wong Kim Ark. |
The historic 128-year-old legacy of a San Francisco Chinatown cook has been vindicated, as the US Supreme Court ruled 6–3 to reject a white nationalist-fueled executive order, firmly upholding constitutional birthright citizenship for all children born on American soil.
For Norman Wong and Sandra Wong, the great-grandchildren of civil rights icon Wong Kim Ark, the high court's decision was a moment of profound relief—and a stark reminder of the perpetual fight against the "forever foreigner" stereotype that still haunts Asian Americans.
The high-stakes legal battle erupted after Donald Trump tried to unilaterally dismantle the 14th Amendment. His executive order sought to strip automatic citizenship from children born in the US to temporary visitors and undocumented immigrants—a move that would have upended the lives of over 250,000 babies born each year.
The high-stakes legal battle erupted after Donald Trump tried to unilaterally dismantle the 14th Amendment. His executive order sought to strip automatic citizenship from children born in the US to temporary visitors and undocumented immigrants—a move that would have upended the lives of over 250,000 babies born each year.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts made it clear that a president cannot rewrite the Constitution by executive decree. The court squarely reaffirmed the very precedent established by the Wongs' ancestor in the landmark 1898 case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
Trump vows to continue fight to restrict immigration
Celebrate while you can. Although the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, other crucial Supreme Court victories for the administration are adversely affecting millions of legal visa-holders from Asia, the country's fastest-growing immigrant group.
The fact that the SCOTUS ruling wasn't unanimous in what legal experts thought would be a slam-dunk gives the Trump regime an open door to achieve what his weaponized DOJ sought to do.
Trump criticized the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling striking down his executive order on birthright citizenship, calling the decision "too bad for our Country" but pivoting immediately to demand a legislative workaround through Congress.In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump expressed deep disappointment, stating that while the court upheld the policy, "we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation."
He urged Congress to begin drafting legislation "today" to dismantle birthright citizenship, labeling the practice "expensive and unfair to our country" and promising lawmakers his "Complete and Total Support!."
Though Trump lost his fight against the 14th Amendment's birthright protections, immigration experts warn that the cumulative effect of the other Supreme Court decisions will heavily disrupt the lives of millions of lawful visa holders and employment-based immigrants.
Trump achieved his broader agenda against immigrants of color through the following wins at the Supreme Court:
- TPS Terminations: In Mullin v. Doe, the Court ruled 6-3 to bar judicial review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) determinations. This greenlit the termination of TPS for Haiti and Syria, immediately placing roughly 350,000 work-authorized individuals at risk of deportation and the loss of their legal status. While the case specifically involved Haitian and Syrian immigrants, the ruling has broad implications for all immigrants, including those from Asia, such as Nepal, Burma (Myanmar) and Afghanistan.
- Asylum Restrictions: In Mullin v. Al Otro Lado, the Court determined that migrants attempting to seek asylum while standing outside the US border are not considered to have legally "arrived" in the country.
- Lawful Permanent Resident Admissibility: In Blanche v. Muk Choi Lau, the Court ruled 6-3 that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) can defer the inspection of Lawful Permanent Residents who committed crimes until after their conviction, making it significantly easier to deport green card holders.
View from the edge
Immigrants from Asia make up the fastest-growing minority and racial demographic in the US, and they are disproportionately affected by the broader shifting legal landscape. While ending birthright citizenship would have primarily affected the US-born children of undocumented Latinos, studies have shown that the fastest relative growth of "unauthorized" births would have occurred among Asian families who are lawfully in the US on student and work visas. Many Asian immigrants face massive green card backlogs — often stretching over a decade — and thus rely on these temporary, nonimmigrant statuses for long periods.
The original battle began when Wong Kim Ark, a cook born in San Francisco, traveled to China and was blocked from re-entering his own country by racist immigration officials wielding the Chinese Exclusion Act. He refused to back down, forcing the Supreme Court to declare in 1898 that birth on U.S. soil equals citizenship, period.
In a poetic twist of continuity, the case defending our foundational rights was argued before the high court by ACLU national director Cecillia Wang — an American-born daughter of Taiwanese immigrants. Norman Wong, a 76-year-old Bay Area resident and veteran activist of the 1970s Third World Liberation Front at UC Berkeley, noted how "sweet" it was to see a Chinese American woman who herself is a US citizen by virtue of birthright citizenship, leading the defense at the frontlines of anti-Asian discrimination.
Norman Wong spent the morning of the decision at his Bay Area home, eating a bowl of oatmeal and anxiously tracking the news. Speaking with AsAmNews, he emphasized that this wasn't just a win for one community.“Today's ruling shows that his victory remains as important now as it was in 1898... We’re fighting for rights for all Americans because these are fundamental rights.”
His sister, Sandra Wong, expressed disbelief that they even had to fight this battle in 2026. "This is Wong Kim Ark's legacy," she stated. "It is our legacy."
Just weeks before this modern victory, a vibrant new mural honoring Wong Kim Ark was unveiled and blessed with a lion dance in San Francisco's Chinatown. It stands as a permanent reminder that Asian Americans have never been passive bystanders in the story of American democracy—we built the legal bedrock that protects everyone.
"His fight was not just his own, it was for me and for generations to come," Norman Wong said in an earlier speech at a rally outside the Supreme Court building. "This is Wong Kim Ark's legacy. This is my legacy. It is our legacy, and now it is our responsibility to protect it for our children and for generations yet to come."
"His fight was not just his own, it was for me and for generations to come," Norman Wong said in an earlier speech at a rally outside the Supreme Court building. "This is Wong Kim Ark's legacy. This is my legacy. It is our legacy, and now it is our responsibility to protect it for our children and for generations yet to come."
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. If you find this perspective interesting, please repost.
