1 00:00:15,539 --> 00:00:16,939 [Rush Lindell] What nobody wants to say. 2 00:00:17,239 --> 00:00:21,839 [Rush Lindell] The Supreme Court is about to hand down one of the biggest rulings of this decade, 3 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:24,789 [Rush Lindell] and most of the media is still asleep at the wheel. 4 00:00:24,940 --> 00:00:25,140 [Reagan] And 5 00:00:25,140 --> 00:00:27,240 [Rush Lindell] Welcome to the Rush Lindell Show. 6 00:00:27,390 --> 00:00:28,740 [Rush Lindell] I'm Rush Lindell. 7 00:00:28,740 --> 00:00:29,839 [Reagan] I'm Reagan, 8 00:00:29,939 --> 00:00:30,839 [Reagan] and Rush, 9 00:00:30,890 --> 00:00:32,640 [Reagan] asleep at the wheel might be generous. 10 00:00:33,490 --> 00:00:34,439 [Rush Lindell] Fair point. 11 00:00:34,689 --> 00:00:37,990 [Rush Lindell] Today we are all over Trump versus Barbara, 12 00:00:38,439 --> 00:00:42,040 [Rush Lindell] the birthright citizenship case that Newsweek is already comparing to 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:42,439 [Speaker 3] an ancient myth. 14 00:00:41,780 --> 00:00:45,730 [Rush Lindell] Comparing to Dobbs in terms of sheer constitutional weight, 15 00:00:46,380 --> 00:00:47,630 [Rush Lindell] SCOTUSblog flagged 16 00:00:47,630 --> 00:00:47,679 [Reagan] Yes. 17 00:00:47,679 --> 00:00:51,630 [Rush Lindell] at least twelve opinions still outstanding before this term closes. 18 00:00:52,079 --> 00:00:53,780 [Rush Lindell] This one is in that pile. 19 00:00:54,179 --> 00:00:55,730 [Reagan] And the term ends soon, 20 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:57,430 [Reagan] so the clock is actually ticking. 21 00:00:57,880 --> 00:00:58,829 [Rush Lindell] Ticking loud, 22 00:00:59,329 --> 00:01:04,079 [Rush Lindell] Trump signed Executive Order 1461 on his first day back, 23 00:01:04,430 --> 00:01:06,629 [Rush Lindell] January twentieth twenty twenty five, 24 00:01:06,879 --> 00:01:08,180 [Rush Lindell] and then showed up in. 25 00:01:08,052 --> 00:01:11,452 [Rush Lindell] In person to watch oral arguments on April first, 26 00:01:11,902 --> 00:01:14,352 [Rush Lindell] first sitting President ever to do that. 27 00:01:14,652 --> 00:01:16,452 [Reagan] During April Fool's Day, 28 00:01:16,552 --> 00:01:17,052 [Reagan] for the record. 29 00:01:18,102 --> 00:01:20,302 [Rush Lindell] The calendar does not lie. 30 00:01:20,702 --> 00:01:23,052 [Rush Lindell] Now we're going wall to wall on this. 31 00:01:23,402 --> 00:01:26,902 [Rush Lindell] Reagan walks us through the constitutional fight at the center, 32 00:01:27,302 --> 00:01:31,102 [Rush Lindell] five words from the Fourteenth Amendment and what they actually mean. 33 00:01:31,452 --> 00:01:34,052 [Reagan] Subject to the jurisdiction thereof. 34 00:01:34,132 --> 00:01:35,582 [Reagan] That's the whole ball game, 35 00:01:35,782 --> 00:01:38,882 [Reagan] and the competing interpretations go back to eighteen ninety eight. 36 00:01:39,231 --> 00:01:41,731 [Rush Lindell] Then we get into the court room itself, 37 00:01:42,032 --> 00:01:46,582 [Rush Lindell] because Trump's own three appointees pushed hard against the government's position. 38 00:01:47,082 --> 00:01:48,981 [Rush Lindell] That's the story most people are missing. 39 00:01:48,981 --> 00:01:49,231 [Reagan] Hmm. 40 00:01:49,382 --> 00:01:52,032 [Reagan] And there's a second story underneath all of this: 41 00:01:52,231 --> 00:01:57,481 [Reagan] a denaturalization apparatus running quietly alongside the Supreme Court case. 42 00:01:57,632 --> 00:01:59,331 [Reagan] That one deserves its own hour. 43 00:01:59,731 --> 00:02:00,331 [Rush Lindell] It does. 44 00:02:00,275 --> 00:02:01,676 [Rush Lindell] But we're covering it today. 45 00:02:02,075 --> 00:02:05,475 [Rush Lindell] The 14th Amendment battle does not end with one ruling, 46 00:02:05,676 --> 00:02:07,025 [Rush Lindell] and we're going to prove that. 47 00:02:07,375 --> 00:02:09,575 [Rush Lindell] First segment starts right now. 48 00:02:14,776 --> 00:02:16,975 [Rush Lindell] Before we dive in, a quick reminder. 49 00:02:17,026 --> 00:02:21,126 [Rush Lindell] We love hearing from you. If you have questions or topics you'd like us to cover, 50 00:02:21,475 --> 00:02:24,276 [Rush Lindell] head to the link in the description and submit your question. 51 00:02:24,526 --> 00:02:26,276 [Rush Lindell] We read every single one. 52 00:02:31,508 --> 00:02:37,707 [Rush Lindell] The Supreme Court has twelve opinions left to issue-twelve! The term ends within days, 53 00:02:37,858 --> 00:02:39,158 [Rush Lindell] early July at latest, 54 00:02:39,258 --> 00:02:40,158 [Rush Lindell] according to Newsweek. 55 00:02:40,358 --> 00:02:47,858 [Reagan] And Newsweek called it the most consequential ruling since the court overturned abortion rights jurisprudence in 2022. 56 00:02:48,258 --> 00:02:50,008 [Reagan] That's the weight we're talking about. 57 00:02:50,258 --> 00:02:51,457 [Rush Lindell] That's not nothing. 58 00:02:51,758 --> 00:02:53,258 [Rush Lindell] You know what nobody wants to say? 59 00:02:53,457 --> 00:02:58,308 [Rush Lindell] This one lands different because this isn't a policy debate dressed up. 60 00:02:58,068 --> 00:02:59,318 [Rush Lindell] Stop is a legal question. 61 00:02:59,668 --> 00:03:01,468 [Rush Lindell] It's a constitutional reckoning. 62 00:03:01,868 --> 00:03:03,968 [Rush Lindell] January twentieth twenty twenty five, 63 00:03:04,268 --> 00:03:05,018 [Rush Lindell] day one: 64 00:03:05,468 --> 00:03:12,118 [Rush Lindell] Trump signs Executive Order fourteen one sixty protecting the meaning and value of American citizenship. 65 00:03:12,868 --> 00:03:14,418 [Rush Lindell] Two categories of children gone. 66 00:03:14,418 --> 00:03:25,618 [Reagan] hmm right children born here to mothers who are unlawfully present and children born to mothers on temporary visas both fathers not citizens or permanent residents 67 00:03:25,747 --> 00:03:29,298 [Reagan] That's the Executive Order according to the Library of Congress. 68 00:03:29,847 --> 00:03:32,897 [Rush Lindell] And then April first rolls around-April Fool's Day. 69 00:03:33,147 --> 00:03:40,397 [Rush Lindell] Trump shows up in person to watch oral arguments-first sitting President in official records to ever do that. 70 00:03:40,747 --> 00:03:41,347 [Reagan] A first. 71 00:03:41,747 --> 00:03:42,298 [Rush Lindell] A first. 72 00:03:42,647 --> 00:03:44,597 [Rush Lindell] He stays for about ninety minutes, 73 00:03:44,897 --> 00:03:47,397 [Rush Lindell] listens to his Solicitor General argue the case, 74 00:03:47,697 --> 00:03:48,447 [Rush Lindell] then walks out, 75 00:03:48,747 --> 00:03:51,548 [Rush Lindell] gets back to the White House and posts on Truth Social: 76 00:03:51,572 --> 00:03:54,271 [Rush Lindell] And I'm going to quote this directly because it matters. 77 00:03:54,722 --> 00:03:55,171 [Rush Lindell] He wrote: 78 00:03:55,472 --> 00:04:00,572 [Rush Lindell] "We are the only country in the world stupid enough to allow birthright citizenship. 79 00:04:01,222 --> 00:04:04,171 [Reagan] Which is factually not accurate. 80 00:04:04,421 --> 00:04:06,171 [Reagan] Over thirty countries allow it. 81 00:04:06,622 --> 00:04:07,021 [Rush Lindell] Right! 82 00:04:07,271 --> 00:04:11,722 [Rush Lindell] But the President wasn't at the court doing legal analysis-he was doing theater, 83 00:04:11,972 --> 00:04:13,472 [Rush Lindell] and that's the honest read. 84 00:04:13,972 --> 00:04:15,521 [Reagan] What I'd push back on slightly, 85 00:04:15,822 --> 00:04:17,271 [Reagan] the legal argument itself. 86 00:04:17,300 --> 00:04:18,850 [Speaker 4] If health is separate from the theater, 87 00:04:19,250 --> 00:04:24,850 [Speaker 4] the executive order raises a real constitutional question about five words in the Fourteenth Amendment. 88 00:04:25,363 --> 00:04:26,463 [Rush Lindell] Five words, 89 00:04:26,863 --> 00:04:34,563 [Rush Lindell] subject to the jurisdiction thereof-that's the whole fight; that's what twelve justices worth of scrutiny is about to land on. 90 00:04:34,963 --> 00:04:45,163 [Speaker 4] And the clock is running." SCOTUSblog reported twelve opinions still outstanding as of yesterday-an opinion is expected before this term closes. 91 00:04:45,763 --> 00:04:47,063 [Rush Lindell] However this comes down, 92 00:04:47,213 --> 00:04:49,763 [Rush Lindell] and we'll get into the legal architecture of that argument, 93 00:04:50,063 --> 00:04:52,013 [Rush Lindell] the bigger story starts the day after. 94 00:04:51,795 --> 00:04:52,445 [Rush Lindell] day after. 95 00:04:52,745 --> 00:04:57,096 [Rush Lindell] So what exactly does that executive order say the 14th Amendment means? 96 00:04:57,596 --> 00:04:59,795 [Speaker 4] That's where it gets complicated fast. 97 00:05:05,656 --> 00:05:10,055 [Rush Lindell] So those five words-the whole constitutional fight lives in them. 98 00:05:10,455 --> 00:05:11,805 [Rush Lindell] Walk me through the two sides. 99 00:05:12,255 --> 00:05:16,805 [Speaker 4] The government's argument is that subject to the jurisdiction thereof means allegiance, 100 00:05:17,205 --> 00:05:19,755 [Speaker 4] not just physical presence; their read, 101 00:05:19,955 --> 00:05:24,406 [Speaker 4] the Fourteenth Amendment was written to give citizenship to freed slaves after Dred Scott, 102 00:05:24,755 --> 00:05:25,505 [Speaker 4] full stop. 103 00:05:26,055 --> 00:05:28,555 [Speaker 4] Children of people here illegally or temporarily, 104 00:05:29,005 --> 00:05:30,505 [Speaker 4] different situation entirely. 105 00:05:31,156 --> 00:05:32,906 [Rush Lindell] So they're saying context matters. 106 00:05:33,172 --> 00:05:34,572 [Rush Lindell] eighteen sixty eight, 107 00:05:34,722 --> 00:05:36,072 [Rush Lindell] not twenty twenty six. 108 00:05:36,472 --> 00:05:40,672 [Speaker 4] Right; and the Washington Times editorial out today makes that case bluntly: 109 00:05:41,072 --> 00:05:49,322 [Speaker 4] "Can any serious legal scholar argue the amendment's authors intended citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil regardless of circumstance? 110 00:05:49,922 --> 00:05:50,872 [Rush Lindell] Strong words! 111 00:05:51,272 --> 00:05:52,322 [Speaker 4] It's an opinion piece, 112 00:05:52,522 --> 00:05:55,322 [Speaker 4] but that's the originalist argument in plain English. 113 00:05:55,772 --> 00:05:55,972 [Speaker 4] Now, 114 00:05:56,122 --> 00:05:58,722 [Speaker 4] the other side points straight to Wong Kim Ark, 115 00:05:59,072 --> 00:05:59,922 [Speaker 4] eighteen ninety eight, 116 00:06:00,072 --> 00:06:00,772 [Speaker 4] Supreme Court, 117 00:06:00,772 --> 00:06:00,872 [Rush Lindell] Mm 118 00:06:00,872 --> 00:06:00,972 [Speaker 4] six 119 00:06:00,972 --> 00:06:01,072 [Rush Lindell] -hmm. 120 00:06:01,072 --> 00:06:01,672 [Speaker 4] to two. 121 00:06:01,588 --> 00:06:01,688 [Speaker 4] Two, 122 00:06:02,088 --> 00:06:03,188 [Speaker 4] born in San Francisco, 123 00:06:03,538 --> 00:06:06,737 [Speaker 4] parents were Chinese nationals, never eligible for citizenship. 124 00:06:07,338 --> 00:06:08,737 [Speaker 4] Court said it didn't matter. 125 00:06:09,138 --> 00:06:09,588 [Speaker 4] Born here? 126 00:06:09,888 --> 00:06:10,438 [Speaker 4] You're a citizen. 127 00:06:10,737 --> 00:06:11,987 [Rush Lindell] And that case is, 128 00:06:12,138 --> 00:06:12,288 [Rush Lindell] what, 129 00:06:12,388 --> 00:06:13,938 [Rush Lindell] 128 years old? 130 00:06:14,338 --> 00:06:16,237 [Speaker 4] 128 years. 131 00:06:16,838 --> 00:06:20,338 [Speaker 4] The challengers say Wong Kim Ark already answered this question. 132 00:06:20,538 --> 00:06:23,588 [Speaker 4] The government's trying to relitigate settled law. 133 00:06:23,737 --> 00:06:26,138 [Rush Lindell] So the government's response is, 134 00:06:26,237 --> 00:06:26,588 [Rush Lindell] what, 135 00:06:26,688 --> 00:06:27,538 [Rush Lindell] that case doesn't apply? 136 00:06:27,348 --> 00:06:27,747 [Rush Lindell] Doesn't apply! 137 00:06:28,348 --> 00:06:34,048 [Speaker 4] They argue Wong Kim Ark only covered children of permanent residents—people with domicile here, 138 00:06:34,398 --> 00:06:36,148 [Speaker 4] not someone on a tourist visa, 139 00:06:36,398 --> 00:06:38,448 [Speaker 4] not someone who crossed the border illegally. 140 00:06:38,997 --> 00:06:40,398 [Speaker 4] That's the narrowing theory. 141 00:06:40,948 --> 00:06:45,648 [Rush Lindell] That's doing a lot of heavy lifting on one word in a hundred and thirty year old opinion. 142 00:06:46,248 --> 00:06:46,948 [Speaker 4] It is, 143 00:06:47,148 --> 00:06:48,998 [Speaker 4] and apparently Roberts agreed. 144 00:06:49,548 --> 00:06:51,548 [Speaker 4] According to last month at the Supreme Court, 145 00:06:51,548 --> 00:06:51,798 [Rush Lindell] Yes. 146 00:06:51,798 --> 00:06:53,348 [Speaker 4] the Solicitor General argued both 147 00:06:53,348 --> 00:06:53,748 [Speaker 3] sides. 148 00:06:53,076 --> 00:06:58,576 [Speaker 4] Argued the court needs to expand its reading to address a "new world": birth tourism, 149 00:06:58,876 --> 00:06:59,876 [Speaker 4] eight billion people. 150 00:07:00,101 --> 00:07:01,551 [Rush Lindell] One plain right away. 151 00:07:02,051 --> 00:07:03,451 [Rush Lindell] Roberts stopped him cold. 152 00:07:03,751 --> 00:07:04,051 [Rush Lindell] Well, 153 00:07:04,251 --> 00:07:06,601 [Rush Lindell] it's a new world; it's the same Constitution. 154 00:07:07,401 --> 00:07:09,851 [Reagan] That's the whole argument right there! 155 00:07:10,301 --> 00:07:15,401 [Rush Lindell] It tells you exactly where Roberts was sitting when he heard that brief; so the Government's theory, 156 00:07:15,701 --> 00:07:17,201 [Rush Lindell] allegiance over geography, 157 00:07:17,601 --> 00:07:24,501 [Rush Lindell] runs straight into a hundred and twenty eight years of precedent and the Chief Justice cutting them off at the knees in open court. 158 00:07:24,901 --> 00:07:26,001 [Reagan] That's the set-up. 159 00:07:26,201 --> 00:07:28,701 [Reagan] The question is whether the rest of the bench agreed. 160 00:07:28,857 --> 00:07:31,407 [Reagan] And that's where the oral argument gets interesting, 161 00:07:31,657 --> 00:07:34,857 [Reagan] because the answer isn't as clean as Roberts made it sound. 162 00:07:35,357 --> 00:07:35,657 [Reagan] Yeah, 163 00:07:35,907 --> 00:07:38,807 [Reagan] Alito and Thomas were in a different zip code entirely. 164 00:07:39,157 --> 00:07:39,807 [Reagan] We'll get there. 165 00:07:45,341 --> 00:07:47,891 [Reagan] So now we know who lined up where, 166 00:07:48,141 --> 00:07:48,291 [Reagan] and, 167 00:07:48,441 --> 00:07:48,641 [Reagan] oh, 168 00:07:48,741 --> 00:07:49,041 [Reagan] man, 169 00:07:49,191 --> 00:07:51,241 [Reagan] this is the part I've been waiting for! 170 00:07:51,541 --> 00:07:52,441 [Rush Lindell] The irony? 171 00:07:53,591 --> 00:07:54,941 [Reagan] The irony! 172 00:07:55,491 --> 00:07:56,741 [Rush Lindell] Alito and Thomas, 173 00:07:56,941 --> 00:07:59,941 [Rush Lindell] the two justices most likely to hand Trump a win, 174 00:08:00,441 --> 00:08:02,591 [Rush Lindell] according to last month at the Supreme Court, 175 00:08:03,041 --> 00:08:04,841 [Rush Lindell] Alito went after the challengers. 176 00:08:05,141 --> 00:08:11,391 [Rush Lindell] He argued illegal immigration was basically unknown when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in eighteen sixty eight. 177 00:08:11,193 --> 00:08:11,493 [Rush Lindell] eight: 178 00:08:11,943 --> 00:08:13,243 [Rush Lindell] Thomas Same Direction 179 00:08:13,693 --> 00:08:17,893 [Reagan] Those two are probably the dissenters-the math gets brutal from there. 180 00:08:18,343 --> 00:08:20,543 [Rush Lindell] Right; because then you've got Gorsuch, 181 00:08:20,743 --> 00:08:21,843 [Rush Lindell] Kavanaugh and Barrett, 182 00:08:22,143 --> 00:08:23,243 [Rush Lindell] Trump's three picks, 183 00:08:23,593 --> 00:08:27,743 [Rush Lindell] his people; and Gorsuch is in that argument telling the Solicitor General, 184 00:08:27,943 --> 00:08:28,193 [Rush Lindell] quote, 185 00:08:28,493 --> 00:08:34,693 [Rush Lindell] 'I'm not sure how much you want to rely on Wong Kim Ark.' That's not help; that's a warning shot. 186 00:08:35,143 --> 00:08:38,343 [Reagan] Gorsuch also pointed out that in eighteen sixty eight 187 00:08:38,629 --> 00:08:42,079 [Reagan] Anyone could show up in the U.S. and establish domicile. 188 00:08:42,379 --> 00:08:44,529 [Reagan] There were basically no immigration laws, 189 00:08:44,829 --> 00:08:49,579 [Reagan] so the government's domicile theory kind of collapses on its own historical evidence. 190 00:08:50,279 --> 00:08:53,329 [Reagan] He used their argument to argue against them: 191 00:08:53,729 --> 00:08:54,379 [Reagan] chef's kiss. 192 00:08:54,879 --> 00:09:03,029 [Rush Lindell] And Kavanaugh? He asked why bother ruling on the constitutional question at all when the court could just resolve it on statutory grounds, 193 00:09:03,379 --> 00:09:05,229 [Rush Lindell] the Immigration and Nationality Act. 194 00:09:04,953 --> 00:09:05,053 [Rush Lindell] Act. 195 00:09:05,603 --> 00:09:09,153 [Reagan] Which means even if Trump squeaks through on the Constitution, 196 00:09:09,753 --> 00:09:13,953 [Reagan] Kavanaugh might hand the other side a win anyway on a technicality. 197 00:09:14,153 --> 00:09:20,453 [Rush Lindell] That's not a technicality; that's the court doing what courts do; but the practical result is the same. 198 00:09:21,003 --> 00:09:24,653 [Reagan] And Newsweek is reporting Trump himself isn't optimistic. 199 00:09:25,153 --> 00:09:26,403 [Reagan] After oral arguments, 200 00:09:26,553 --> 00:09:28,803 [Reagan] he's not feeling great about his own case. 201 00:09:28,953 --> 00:09:32,403 [Reagan] The man sat in that courtroom and watched his appointees. 202 00:09:32,345 --> 00:09:33,995 [Reagan] Please probe the Solicitor General. 203 00:09:34,545 --> 00:09:41,945 [Rush Lindell] SCOTUSblog's transcript analysis puts the most likely outcome at six to three or seven to two against the government. 204 00:09:43,045 --> 00:09:48,145 [Reagan] So the president who reshaped the court may be reshaped by it. 205 00:09:48,545 --> 00:09:50,145 [Reagan] You cannot write this stuff. 206 00:09:50,595 --> 00:09:50,895 [Rush Lindell] Look, 207 00:09:51,045 --> 00:09:53,845 [Rush Lindell] skeptical questions don't always predict votes, 208 00:09:54,195 --> 00:09:55,745 [Rush Lindell] but the pressure was asymmetric: 209 00:09:56,145 --> 00:09:56,595 [Rush Lindell] Gorsuch, 210 00:09:56,795 --> 00:09:57,145 [Rush Lindell] Roberts, 211 00:09:57,395 --> 00:10:00,295 [Rush Lindell] Jackson all concentrated fire on the government side. 212 00:10:00,467 --> 00:10:02,217 [Reagan] And all of this drama, 213 00:10:02,467 --> 00:10:07,867 [Reagan] all of it, comes down to five words in one sentence written in eighteen sixty eight, 214 00:10:08,067 --> 00:10:09,317 [Reagan] which actually, 215 00:10:09,717 --> 00:10:10,517 [Reagan] well, 216 00:10:10,767 --> 00:10:14,667 [Reagan] someone should probably explain that in a way regular people can follow. 217 00:10:15,117 --> 00:10:16,517 [Rush Lindell] Are you proposing a seminar? 218 00:10:17,317 --> 00:10:19,967 [Reagan] Something like that. Stick around. 219 00:10:25,369 --> 00:10:26,269 [Reagan] All right, 220 00:10:26,469 --> 00:10:35,219 [Reagan] Welcome to the part of the show I am calling The Five Word Constitutional Crisis-Five Words Written in eighteen sixty eight, 221 00:10:35,519 --> 00:10:38,669 [Reagan] and lawyers have been billing by the hour ever since. 222 00:10:39,269 --> 00:10:42,819 [Rush Lindell] One Hundred and Fifty Eight Years of Billable Hours 223 00:10:43,669 --> 00:10:47,119 [Reagan] Subject to the jurisdiction thereof. That's it. 224 00:10:47,369 --> 00:10:48,169 [Reagan] That's the whole thing. 225 00:10:48,469 --> 00:10:49,669 [Reagan] That's what we're doing here, 226 00:10:49,719 --> 00:10:49,919 [Reagan] people. 227 00:10:50,519 --> 00:10:51,219 [Rush Lindell] Riveting 228 00:10:52,997 --> 00:10:58,647 [Reagan] Now the Solicitor General John Sauer walks into the Supreme Court and drops this line: 229 00:10:59,197 --> 00:11:04,347 [Reagan] "Eight billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who's a U S citizen. 230 00:11:04,347 --> 00:11:04,897 [Rush Lindell] Wow. 231 00:11:04,897 --> 00:11:05,797 [Reagan] Eight billion! 232 00:11:06,397 --> 00:11:07,097 [Rush Lindell] Okay, 233 00:11:07,297 --> 00:11:08,647 [Rush Lindell] but by that logic- 234 00:11:08,897 --> 00:11:10,497 [Reagan] Apply it to the Second Amendment: 235 00:11:10,997 --> 00:11:16,247 [Reagan] "Eight billion people are one plane ride away from owning a firearm." Where's that panic? 236 00:11:16,761 --> 00:11:18,211 [Rush Lindell] Or the First Amendment: 237 00:11:18,561 --> 00:11:23,461 [Rush Lindell] "Eight billion people one plane ride away from filing a strongly worded op ed. 238 00:11:24,061 --> 00:11:27,211 [Reagan] Terrifying; and Roberts cool as ice goes, 239 00:11:27,461 --> 00:11:27,711 [Reagan] well, 240 00:11:27,911 --> 00:11:28,811 [Reagan] it's a new world. 241 00:11:29,211 --> 00:11:31,011 [Reagan] It's the same Constitution. 242 00:11:31,861 --> 00:11:34,061 [Rush Lindell] Which is the whole ball game, honestly. 243 00:11:34,411 --> 00:11:36,811 [Rush Lindell] That's Roberts telling you exactly where he lands. 244 00:11:37,461 --> 00:11:38,011 [Reagan] Meanwhile, 245 00:11:38,161 --> 00:11:43,911 [Reagan] cable news has boiled this entire constitutional question down to "Trump wants to steal baby citizenship. 246 00:11:44,153 --> 00:11:46,403 [Reagan] Versus liberals want open borders. 247 00:11:46,753 --> 00:11:47,153 [Reagan] That's it. 248 00:11:47,453 --> 00:11:48,003 [Reagan] Pick a side. 249 00:11:48,553 --> 00:11:50,603 [Rush Lindell] No mention of Wong Kim Ark, 250 00:11:50,803 --> 00:11:55,653 [Rush Lindell] no mention of eighteen sixty eight ratification debates-just vibes. 251 00:11:56,453 --> 00:12:03,353 [Reagan] Just pure distilled vibes-five words that broke the Internet-and almost nobody's actually reading them. 252 00:12:03,853 --> 00:12:05,853 [Rush Lindell] And while everyone's watching the court, 253 00:12:06,003 --> 00:12:08,153 [Rush Lindell] there's a whole other story happening, 254 00:12:08,353 --> 00:12:10,553 [Rush Lindell] one the media framing has completely buried. 255 00:12:11,075 --> 00:12:13,375 [Reagan] That's the story that should terrify people, 256 00:12:13,625 --> 00:12:15,375 [Reagan] and that's exactly where we're going. 257 00:12:20,825 --> 00:12:24,125 [Reagan] So while every one's been watching the Supreme Court case, 258 00:12:24,475 --> 00:12:29,525 [Reagan] the Administration's been running something else entirely-a parallel operation, 259 00:12:29,925 --> 00:12:31,025 [Reagan] already live. 260 00:12:31,475 --> 00:12:35,425 [Rush Lindell] The American Immigration Lawyers Association documented it cleanly: 261 00:12:35,775 --> 00:12:36,475 [Rush Lindell] three prongs: 262 00:12:36,875 --> 00:12:38,075 [Rush Lindell] end birthright citizenship, 263 00:12:38,525 --> 00:12:40,675 [Rush Lindell] make naturalization harder to get, 264 00:12:40,975 --> 00:12:44,025 [Rush Lindell] and strip citizenship from people who already have it. 265 00:12:44,375 --> 00:12:45,275 [Reagan] In that order: 266 00:12:45,675 --> 00:12:46,825 [Reagan] Birth to Oath 267 00:12:46,745 --> 00:12:49,145 [Reagan] To revocation-the whole chain. 268 00:12:49,345 --> 00:12:50,845 [Rush Lindell] And the revocation piece, 269 00:12:51,195 --> 00:12:53,095 [Rush Lindell] that's the one the cameras aren't on. 270 00:12:53,595 --> 00:12:55,095 [Rush Lindell] USCIS field offices. 271 00:12:55,095 --> 00:12:55,445 [Speaker 4] Wow. 272 00:12:55,445 --> 00:13:03,445 [Rush Lindell] The New York Times got internal guidance showing the target 100 to 200 denaturalization referrals per month. 273 00:13:03,895 --> 00:13:04,895 [Rush Lindell] Now, to be clear, 274 00:13:05,145 --> 00:13:08,195 [Rush Lindell] there's a legitimate legal argument for going after fraud, 275 00:13:08,545 --> 00:13:10,045 [Rush Lindell] people who lied on applications. 276 00:13:10,345 --> 00:13:11,795 [Rush Lindell] That's existed forever. 277 00:13:11,995 --> 00:13:13,895 [Rush Lindell] That's how we got Nazi war criminals. 278 00:13:14,233 --> 00:13:15,583 [Reagan] No argument from me: 279 00:13:15,933 --> 00:13:17,083 [Reagan] fraud is fraud. 280 00:13:17,483 --> 00:13:19,933 [Rush Lindell] But here's where I push back on the quota model. 281 00:13:20,233 --> 00:13:22,383 [Rush Lindell] Between 2017 and 2025, 282 00:13:23,183 --> 00:13:23,733 [Rush Lindell] eight years, 283 00:13:24,133 --> 00:13:26,933 [Rush Lindell] there were just over 120 cases total. 284 00:13:27,433 --> 00:13:31,333 [Rush Lindell] Now they want 100 to 200 every single month. 285 00:13:31,783 --> 00:13:33,383 [Reagan] That's not enforcement, 286 00:13:33,783 --> 00:13:35,033 [Reagan] that's a production line. 287 00:13:35,533 --> 00:13:41,383 [Rush Lindell] And a former USCIS official told the Times that quotas change which cases get selected. 288 00:13:41,497 --> 00:13:42,197 [Rush Lindell] Then you stop 289 00:13:42,197 --> 00:13:43,697 [Speaker 5] asking "Is this case 290 00:13:43,697 --> 00:13:47,347 [Rush Lindell] worth it?" and start asking "Can we close this fast? 291 00:13:47,747 --> 00:13:52,297 [Reagan] We all know what's really happening here; Supreme Court is the visible play, 292 00:13:52,547 --> 00:13:53,547 [Reagan] the cameras are there, 293 00:13:53,647 --> 00:13:54,747 [Reagan] the arguments are there, 294 00:13:54,997 --> 00:13:59,297 [Reagan] but this machine is already running regardless of how the ruling comes down. 295 00:13:59,697 --> 00:14:00,097 [Rush Lindell] And the 296 00:14:00,097 --> 00:14:01,147 [Speaker 3] little 297 00:14:00,202 --> 00:14:02,802 [Rush Lindell] The legal architecture makes it volume friendly. 298 00:14:03,302 --> 00:14:05,002 [Rush Lindell] Denaturalization is civil, 299 00:14:05,252 --> 00:14:13,102 [Rush Lindell] not criminal; no right to a court appointed attorney; no statute of limitations; the evidentiary bar is clear and convincing, 300 00:14:13,452 --> 00:14:14,552 [Rush Lindell] not the criminal standard. 301 00:14:15,002 --> 00:14:16,102 [Reagan] Built for Scale 302 00:14:16,702 --> 00:14:21,202 [Rush Lindell] The AILA's framing is blunt; this is a coordinated strategy, 303 00:14:21,402 --> 00:14:24,702 [Rush Lindell] not three separate enforcement decisions-one administration, 304 00:14:25,052 --> 00:14:26,252 [Rush Lindell] three simultaneous prosecutions. 305 00:14:26,046 --> 00:14:28,546 [Rush Lindell] The spontaneous pressure points on citizenship itself. 306 00:14:29,096 --> 00:14:30,946 [Speaker 4] Win or lose at SCOTUS, 307 00:14:31,196 --> 00:14:33,246 [Speaker 4] the apparatus is already in motion. 308 00:14:33,696 --> 00:14:36,096 [Speaker 4] That's the story nobody's leading with tonight. 309 00:14:36,546 --> 00:14:38,596 [Rush Lindell] And that sets up a real question: 310 00:14:39,096 --> 00:14:43,346 [Rush Lindell] What does the administration actually get depending on how the ruling goes? 311 00:14:43,846 --> 00:14:44,096 [Rush Lindell] Win, 312 00:14:44,346 --> 00:14:44,646 [Rush Lindell] lose, 313 00:14:44,796 --> 00:14:45,446 [Rush Lindell] or split, 314 00:14:45,796 --> 00:14:47,946 [Rush Lindell] none of those outcomes turns this off. 315 00:14:48,346 --> 00:14:52,346 [Speaker 4] And the conservative reckoning over that-that's a conversation worth having. 316 00:14:52,478 --> 00:14:53,178 [Speaker 4] Stick around. 317 00:14:53,678 --> 00:14:54,228 [Speaker 5] Mm-hmm. 318 00:14:58,782 --> 00:14:59,682 [Speaker 4] So! 319 00:15:00,282 --> 00:15:03,332 [Speaker 4] two tracks-two very different outcomes. 320 00:15:03,832 --> 00:15:06,832 [Speaker 4] Let's run the tape on what actually happens in each. 321 00:15:07,382 --> 00:15:11,332 [Rush Lindell] If Trump loses and the signals from that bench were not good for him, 322 00:15:11,832 --> 00:15:14,832 [Rush Lindell] the denaturalization machine doesn't shut down. 323 00:15:15,432 --> 00:15:16,632 [Rush Lindell] Congress is still moving. 324 00:15:17,082 --> 00:15:19,182 [Rush Lindell] Senator Eric Schmitt's SCAM Act, 325 00:15:19,282 --> 00:15:22,382 [Rush Lindell] the Stop Citizenship Abuse and Misrepresentation Act, 326 00:15:22,732 --> 00:15:25,582 [Rush Lindell] would expand revocation grounds to cover fraud. 327 00:15:25,470 --> 00:15:26,970 [Rush Lindell] odd-terrorist ties, 328 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,270 [Rush Lindell] aggravated felonies within ten years of naturalization. 329 00:15:30,970 --> 00:15:37,670 [Speaker 4] And the USCIS quota apparatus is already running; a loss at Supreme Court doesn't unplug that. 330 00:15:38,170 --> 00:15:39,120 [Rush Lindell] Right; now, 331 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:40,370 [Rush Lindell] if Trump wins, 332 00:15:40,620 --> 00:15:41,470 [Rush Lindell] even partially, 333 00:15:41,970 --> 00:15:49,070 [Rush Lindell] Newsweek puts the affected population at around a hundred fifty thousand children born here per year under the current framework. 334 00:15:49,670 --> 00:15:50,220 [Rush Lindell] Hospitals, 335 00:15:50,370 --> 00:15:50,920 [Rush Lindell] agencies, 336 00:15:51,170 --> 00:15:52,620 [Rush Lindell] state vital records offices? 337 00:15:52,862 --> 00:16:00,662 [Rush Lindell] None of them are configured to make citizenship determinations at birth; that's an implementation problem nobody has a plan for. 338 00:16:01,262 --> 00:16:02,612 [Speaker 6] Nobody has a plan. 339 00:16:02,912 --> 00:16:03,412 [Speaker 6] Shocking! 340 00:16:04,162 --> 00:16:07,762 [Rush Lindell] And this is where I want to push back on my own side for a second, 341 00:16:07,862 --> 00:16:08,062 [Rush Lindell] Rush. 342 00:16:08,462 --> 00:16:11,062 [Rush Lindell] There is a genuine conservative split here. 343 00:16:11,662 --> 00:16:17,962 [Rush Lindell] Scholars like Ilan Wurman and Richard Epstein-serious legal minds-backed the administration's position. 344 00:16:18,612 --> 00:16:21,062 [Rush Lindell] Wurman filed an amicus brief in Trump v. 345 00:16:21,262 --> 00:16:21,562 [Rush Lindell] Barbara. 346 00:16:21,374 --> 00:16:21,724 [Rush Lindell] ABRAHAM. 347 00:16:22,074 --> 00:16:24,074 [Rush Lindell] Epstein literally wrote a book. 348 00:16:24,524 --> 00:16:25,674 [Speaker 6] And they're not cranks: 349 00:16:25,924 --> 00:16:29,774 [Speaker 6] these are rigorous originalists making a real textual argument. 350 00:16:30,424 --> 00:16:37,724 [Rush Lindell] No question; but-and this matters-the quota driven denaturalization apparatus is a separate problem. 351 00:16:38,224 --> 00:16:40,924 [Rush Lindell] Using administrative volume to strip citizenship, 352 00:16:41,374 --> 00:16:42,224 [Rush Lindell] civil standard, 353 00:16:42,574 --> 00:16:49,924 [Rush Lindell] no appointed counsel-that is exactly the kind of unchecked federal power a limited government conservative should resist. 354 00:16:49,726 --> 00:16:50,176 [Rush Lindell] Resist. 355 00:16:50,676 --> 00:16:58,126 [Speaker 6] Two things going on at once-you can think birthright citizenship law needs fixing and still think that apparatus is dangerous. 356 00:16:58,686 --> 00:16:59,636 [Rush Lindell] Precisely, 357 00:16:59,836 --> 00:17:06,586 [Rush Lindell] and that's the honest split-the constitutional question and the enforcement machinery are not the same conversation. 358 00:17:07,286 --> 00:17:15,536 [Speaker 6] You know what nobody wants to say; some of the loudest Conservatives cheering this on haven't read the SCAM Act; they're cheering the jersey, 359 00:17:15,836 --> 00:17:16,486 [Speaker 6] not the bill. 360 00:17:17,036 --> 00:17:17,736 [Rush Lindell] That's fair, 361 00:17:17,986 --> 00:17:22,836 [Rush Lindell] and that's the productive discomfort the ruling is going to force-whoever writes that opinion. 362 00:17:28,546 --> 00:17:30,996 [Speaker 4] So watch two things when the ruling drops: 363 00:17:31,296 --> 00:17:31,696 [Speaker 4] first, 364 00:17:31,946 --> 00:17:34,796 [Speaker 4] who writes the majority opinion; Roberts writes it, 365 00:17:34,996 --> 00:17:38,896 [Speaker 4] you get a narrow textualist ruling; Thomas or Alito writes it, 366 00:17:39,096 --> 00:17:43,096 [Speaker 4] you get an originalist rewrite of the citizenship question itself. 367 00:17:43,296 --> 00:17:44,996 [Speaker 4] That is a very different opinion. 368 00:17:45,946 --> 00:17:48,246 [Rush Lindell] And the TPS case that just landed, 369 00:17:48,496 --> 00:17:50,946 [Rush Lindell] the six three ruling in Mullin v Doe, 370 00:17:51,046 --> 00:17:53,246 [Rush Lindell] is the context everyone's missing. 371 00:17:53,796 --> 00:17:55,296 [Rush Lindell] The Court cleared the way to 372 00:17:55,198 --> 00:18:01,348 [Rush Lindell] To end protections for three hundred and fifty thousand Haitians and sixty one hundred Syrians yesterday. 373 00:18:01,918 --> 00:18:03,418 [Speaker 6] On the same week, 374 00:18:03,768 --> 00:18:04,918 [Speaker 6] that's the second front. 375 00:18:05,368 --> 00:18:09,968 [Rush Lindell] Right; and per CNN eight cases are still pending in this term, 376 00:18:10,268 --> 00:18:11,918 [Rush Lindell] including birthright citizenship, 377 00:18:12,468 --> 00:18:15,118 [Rush Lindell] so the ruling drops any morning could be Monday. 378 00:18:15,668 --> 00:18:17,568 [Speaker 6] You know what nobody wants to say. 379 00:18:17,568 --> 00:18:17,868 [Rush Lindell] Yeah. 380 00:18:17,868 --> 00:18:20,368 [Speaker 6] Whatever the court does in Trump v. Barbara, 381 00:18:20,718 --> 00:18:24,218 [Speaker 6] the Fourteenth Amendment fight does not end at this ruling. 382 00:18:24,718 --> 00:18:25,218 [Speaker 6] Congress, 383 00:18:25,418 --> 00:18:25,868 [Speaker 6] the courts, 384 00:18:26,218 --> 00:18:27,818 [Speaker 6] the denaturalization pipeline. 385 00:18:28,062 --> 00:18:29,362 [Speaker 6] All of it keeps moving. 386 00:18:29,912 --> 00:18:33,562 [Rush Lindell] That's the story the next week of coverage will completely miss. 387 00:18:34,112 --> 00:18:38,362 [Speaker 6] And we already told you that's the difference between noise and signal. 388 00:18:43,742 --> 00:18:44,642 [Speaker 4] Bottom line, 389 00:18:44,892 --> 00:18:49,642 [Speaker 4] the Supreme Court has twelve opinions left to issue-twelve-and Trump v. 390 00:18:49,792 --> 00:18:51,892 [Speaker 4] Dobbs is sitting at the top of that pile. 391 00:18:52,442 --> 00:18:55,342 [Speaker 4] This is the biggest citizenship ruling in a generation, 392 00:18:55,742 --> 00:18:57,192 [Speaker 4] and the clock is ticking. 393 00:18:57,692 --> 00:19:00,542 [Rush Lindell] What I keep coming back to is what we talked about earlier: 394 00:19:00,892 --> 00:19:01,842 [Rush Lindell] five words, 395 00:19:02,242 --> 00:19:09,792 [Rush Lindell] subject to the jurisdiction thereof. That phrase has carried 128 years of settled law since Wong Kim Ark. 396 00:19:09,792 --> 00:19:10,042 [Speaker 4] Mm-hmm. 397 00:19:09,982 --> 00:19:10,132 [Speaker 6] Mm-hmm. 398 00:19:10,182 --> 00:19:12,482 [Rush Lindell] The court doesn't overturn that lightly. 399 00:19:12,782 --> 00:19:16,482 [Speaker 6] And Trump left those oral arguments posting on Truth Social. 400 00:19:16,832 --> 00:19:17,782 [Speaker 6] That's the tell. 401 00:19:17,982 --> 00:19:19,832 [Speaker 6] When the theater starts that early, 402 00:19:20,082 --> 00:19:22,932 [Speaker 6] you know the legal confidence isn't exactly overflowing. 403 00:19:23,482 --> 00:19:25,132 [Rush Lindell] Watch who writes the opinion. 404 00:19:25,382 --> 00:19:26,582 [Rush Lindell] That's your real signal. 405 00:19:26,882 --> 00:19:28,532 [Speaker 6] That's exactly right. 406 00:19:28,682 --> 00:19:29,432 [Speaker 6] And remember, 407 00:19:29,832 --> 00:19:30,982 [Speaker 6] even if Trump loses, 408 00:19:31,382 --> 00:19:35,082 [Speaker 6] the SCAM Act and the Denaturalization Quota machine keep running. 409 00:19:35,232 --> 00:19:36,432 [Speaker 6] This fight doesn't end. 410 00:19:36,158 --> 00:19:37,458 [Speaker 6] It doesn't end with one ruling. 411 00:19:37,758 --> 00:19:38,858 [Rush Lindell] Not even close. 412 00:19:39,558 --> 00:19:41,258 [Speaker 6] Thanks for riding this one out with us. 413 00:19:41,608 --> 00:19:42,808 [Speaker 6] If today's episode hit, 414 00:19:43,008 --> 00:19:43,408 [Speaker 6] subscribe, 415 00:19:43,808 --> 00:19:47,008 [Speaker 6] drop a five-star review and pass it to somebody who needs to hear it. 416 00:19:47,408 --> 00:19:49,058 [Speaker 6] New episodes every weekday. 417 00:19:49,258 --> 00:19:50,108 [Rush Lindell] See you tomorrow, 418 00:19:50,158 --> 00:19:50,458 [Rush Lindell] Rush. 419 00:19:50,758 --> 00:19:51,758 [Speaker 6] We'll be here.