Trump v. Barbara · ¶41

In 1868, as today, “jurisdiction” (in the context of a sovereign) refers to the “[p]ower of governing or legislating.” N. Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language 732 (C. Goodrich & N. Porter eds. 1865); see also, e.g., 1 B. Abbott, Dictionary of Terms and Phrases Used in American or English Jurisprudence 671 (1879) (“The authority of government; the sway of a sovereign power”). To be “subject to” the jurisdiction of the United States, then, is to “liv[e] under” its “dominion,” J. Worcester, Dictionary of the English Language 1435 (1860), a meaning reinforced by the Clause’s territorial focus on those born “in” the United States. The Citizenship Clause uses jurisdiction in its ordinary sense—referring to the power of the United States to govern those within its territory.

slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
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