The little-known history of birthright citizenship

Post Reports

Norman Wong didn’t know his family’s history for most of his life. Now, the 75-year-old retired carpenter is fighting to save birthright citizenship and his great-grandfather’s legacy.

His great-grandfather was Wong Kim Ark, a cook born to Chinese immigrants in San Francisco in 1870. After visiting family in China, Wong Kim Ark was denied reentry into the United States. The ensuing court battle made it up to the U.S. Supreme Court and enshrined the right to citizenship for almost any child born on U.S. soil, regardless of where their parents came from.

More than a century later, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to limit birthright citizenship. On Thursday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments about the legal battle over the order. Norman Wong hopes that sharing his family story can influence that fight.

Today’s episode was produced by Laura Benshoff, with help from Emma Talkoff. It was edited by Maggie Penman and mixed by Sean Carter.

If you want to learn more about Wong Kim Ark and the landmark Supreme Court case that affirmed birthright citizenship, check out our podcast “Constitutional.”

Subscribe to The Washington Post here.