Legal analyst Lisa Rubin characterized Justice Clarence Thomas' birthright citizenship dissent as "disappointing" during an MS NOW discussion following the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling upholding birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara.
Rubin said Thomas was "picking up a thread that Solicitor General John Sauer left for him" and "taking the bait" by drawing a distinction between Black Americans and children of "foreign temporary visitors."
In his dissent, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, Thomas argued the 14th Amendment was written to confer citizenship on enslaved people's children, not temporary visitors' children, citing the Dred Scott decision and quoting Frederick Douglass.
Rubin predicted the distinction would not resonate with civil rights advocates, noting, large swaths of the civil rights movement will not accept this argument given decades of shared organizing between the NAACP and immigrant rights groups.
Chief Justice Roberts authored the majority opinion, joined by three liberal justices and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Watch the video below.