Trump v. Barbara · ¶380

Lynch also lacked staying power. By the time of the Citizenship Clause, New York’s higher courts had all but abrogated it. In Ludlam v. Ludlam, a New York appellate court held that the children of those “traveling or sojourning abroad,” “though born in a foreign country, are not born under the allegiance, and are an exception to the rule which makes the place of birth the test of citizenship.” 31 Barb., at 503. That decision was affirmed by the New York Court of Appeals, which stated: “By the law of nature alone, children follow the condition of their fathers, and enter into all their rights. The place of birth produces no change in this particular.” Ludlam v. Ludlam, 26 N.Y. 356, 368 (1863) (emphasis deleted); see also Mayton, 22 Geo. Immigration L. J., at 240 (“shortly thereafter, in Ludlam v. Ludlam, that state’s highest court with all justices concurring spoke differently, saying…

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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