American citizenship is a sacred bond between an individual and a nation, and not to be confused with a souvenir collected during a temporary visitor or a loophole through a plane ticket, a tourist visa, or a strategically timed hospital stay.

The Supreme Court is poised to rule on one of the most consequential constitutional questions of our era: whether the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause mandates birthright citizenship for the children of those present in the United States illegally or only temporarily.