The latest ruling of the US Supreme Court is about far more than immigration. It is a reminder that constitutional democracies ultimately derive their legitimacy not from the popularity of elected governments but from the endurance of the principles that bind them. In reaffirming birthright citizenship, the Court has drawn a clear line between political ambition and constitutional authority.

The principle at stake is straightforward. The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted after the American Civil War to guarantee citizenship to those previously denied it, established that those born on American soil are citizens of the United States. For over a century and a half, this has been regarded not merely as an immigration policy but as a constitutional guarantee. Attempts to narrow its scope inevitably raise a larger question: can a government redefine a fundamental right through executive action? The Court’s answer is no. The significance of the judgment lies less in the immediate fate of President Donald Trump’s executive order than in the institutional message it sends.

Modern democracies often witness elected leaders testing the outer limits of........

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