WXXI News
Judge Richard Dollinger writes about the history of birthright citizenship, and a little-known Rochester connection that goes back to the late 1800s.
A Rochester native and lawyer named John Norton Pomeroy argued the first birthright case in California. He contended that a Chinese man, born in California, could not qualify for citizenship because his parents (as non-citizens) were not "subject to the jurisdiction of the United States." Pomeroy lost, and the matter was assumed to be settled for decades.
But now the Trump administration wants the current Court to decide that Pomeroy was right all along — and flip birthright citizenship on its head.
We discuss it with our guests.
- Richard A. Dollinger, retired New York Court of Claims judge
- Toni Jaeger-Fine, senior counselor at Fordham Law School and principal of Jaeger-Fine Consulting
- Lucrecia Knapp, immigration attorney at Mancuso Brightman PLLC
