Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Tennessee Star, pushed back against questioning from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during Wednesday’s oral arguments on birthright citizenship, calling Roberts’ approach to the issue “arrogant” and out of touch.
The criticism follows an exchange between Roberts and U.S. Solicitor General John Sauer, who cited reports of hundreds of “birth tourism” companies in China while acknowledging that precise data on the practice remains uncertain.
The discussion came as the Court weighs a 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at narrowing the interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause.
“Media reported as early as 2015 that, based on Chinese media reports, there are 500 birth tourism companies in the People’s Republic of China whose business is to bring people here to give birth and return to that nation,” Sauer argued in response to Roberts’ question with regard to the prevalence of birth tourism.
Roberts went on to say, “It certainly wasn’t a problem in the 19th century…It’s a new world. It’s the same constitution.”
On Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Leahy argued that Roberts’ questioning reflected a dismissive attitude toward the scale and implications of birth tourism.
“What an arrogant, insular approach to this issue by Justice Roberts,” Leahy said.
He went on to suggest a stronger response Sauer could have offered, warning that modern realities make the issue far more consequential than in the past.
“Misinterpretation of the 14th Amendment in today’s world, the world of 2026 where the children of 8 billion people could be declared U.S. citizens after a simple plane ride, will absolutely destroy our constitutional republic,” Leahy said.
Leahy further broadened his critique to the Court as a whole, adding, “Here’s the problem: A lot of these Supreme Court justices are not connected to the real world.”
A final ruling in the case, Trump v. Barbara, is expected later this term.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
