If you thought Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had already set the bar low for her performance during oral arguments, she managed to make herself look even worse during the Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship case.
The case centers on President Donald Trump’s executive order challenging the modern (mis)interpretation of birthright citizenship. During questioning, Jackson tried to redefine the concept of allegiance to a country by comparing it to being subject to local laws while traveling abroad. “I was thinking, you know, I’m a U.S. citizen, am visiting Japan. And what it means is that, you know, if I steal someone’s wallet in Japan, the Japanese authorities can arrest me and prosecute me. Um, it’s allegiance, meaning can they control you as a matter of law?”
And she wasn’t finished.
“I can also rely on them if my wallet is stolen to, you know, under Japanese law, go and prosecute the person who has stolen it. So there’s this relationship based on — even though I’m a temporary traveler, I’m just on vacation in Japan, I’m still locally owing allegiance in that sense. Is that the right way to think about it?”
No. It’s not.
It’s so not.
I can’t even begin to understand how someone on the United States Supreme Court could literally make such a profoundly stupid argument.
What Jackson described is basic territorial jurisdiction, not allegiance. Every country on Earth enforces its laws within its borders. That doesn’t mean tourists suddenly pledge loyalty to that country or gain any claim to citizenship. If it did, international travel would come with a whole lot more paperwork and a lot fewer passports.
This distinction isn’t obscure or academic. It’s foundational. I’m sorry, but Jackson’s attempt to blur the line between following local laws and allegiance to a country to justify automatic citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ status, is stupid.
Related: Justice Jackson Gets Clobbered During Oral Arguments on Birthright Citizenship
There isn’t a serious legal mind anywhere that believes being subject to a country’s laws while physically present equals allegiance in any constitutional sense. That’s not how citizenship works. It’s not how sovereignty works. It’s not even how common sense works. It’s just how Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson thinks.
And the amazing thing is, she seemed genuinely convinced she had stumbled onto a compelling point.
🚨 JUST IN: SCOTUS Justice Ketanji Jackson argues for illegal aliens having birthright citizenship by saying if she steals somebody’s wallet in Japan, she has “allegiance” to that country
She has to freaking go. This is absurd. Actually.
“I was thinking, you know, I’m a U.S.… pic.twitter.com/tHCOITYE5u
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 1, 2026
Jackson has faced criticism since the moment Joe Biden nominated her after explicitly promising to pick a black woman for the Court, essentially flagging her as a DEI hire before she was even nominated. One might think he would have picked someone smart, someone who proved themselves worthy of sitting on the highest court in the nation, yet her tenure on the court is loaded with examples of her failing to prove she belongs there. When a justice repeatedly struggles with basic legal concepts during high-stakes arguments, people are going to notice.
And they should.
And we will always call them out.
This isn’t the first time Jackson has had a rough outing during oral arguments, and I guarantee it won’t be the last. But what makes this situation even more frustrating for conservatives is that, despite arguments like Jackson’s falling apart under scrutiny, the Court didn’t exactly signal strong support for Trump’s position during the hearing. Several justices appeared skeptical of the administration’s approach, suggesting that the final ruling may not go the way many expect.
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