When the US Supreme Court released its much-anticipated decision upholding birthright citizenship last week, it referenced research by Canadian Studies Program director Hidetaka Hirota to show the concept's deep roots in US history.
As reported by the College of Letters & Science, the opinion of the court cited Professor Hirota's 2017 book, Expelling the Poor: Atlantic Seaboard States and the Nineteenth-Century Origins of American Immigration Policy. The book traces the development of US federal immigration policy to the mid-19th century influx of impoverished Irish immigrants.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts quoted Hirota as "describing outcry in 1855 when Massachusetts deported a pauper Irish mother with her American-born infant, who was acknowledged to be a 'native-born citizen'". As the court noted, the case demonstrates that even before the passing of the 14th Amendment, and in a time of heightened anti-immigrant sentiment, children of immigrants born on US soil were considered native-born citizens.
"It's an honor to be cited in the US Supreme Court ruling on an issue of critical importance for our society," Hirota told L&S News. "The decision demonstrates how historians' work continues to matter in our society today... The case reminds us that birthright citizenship is something that must be actively protected rather than something that can be taken for granted."