I am the proud great-great-great granddaughter of undocumented Chinese immigrants. As a sixth generation Chinese and fifth generation Japanese American, my family has lived through more than 170 years of Asian American history, including The Chinese Exclusion Act and the Japanese American incarceration during World War II.

We have also lived through over a century of American immigration policy, including the fight for birthright citizenship. While we await The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Trump vs. Barbara, we remember that the fight for birthright citizenship is not new. It took nearly 100 years after the founding of this country before the passage of the 14th Amendment granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people. And despite the words, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States… are citizens of the United States,” many were still excluded.

In 1898, Wong Kim Ark, the U.S-born son of Chinese immigrants,argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that he was entitled to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. This landmark case established that all those born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ nationality or immigration status, are U.S. Citizens. It is because of Wong Kim Ark that my U.S.-born great-great-grandparents and my great grandmother, Mary Wing, were U.S. citizens. But in 1920, Mary was stripped of her birthright citizenship.

How?

As a single woman Mary had birthright citizenship. But when she married Fung Gum Wing, a Chinese immigrant, the confluence of race and gender policies took her birthright citizvvvenship away. Under the Chinese Exclusion Act, as a Chinese immigrant, her husband was an “alien ineligible for citizenship. ” Under the Expatriation Act of 1907, as a woman, Mary was to assume her husband’nationality–or lack of U.S. citizenship.

For 20 years, Mary was nationless without any constitutional rights or protections in the country she was born in–the only country she knew. During this time, her parents were U.S. citizens, and her children were U.S. citizens–but she was not.

In the 1930s, under amendments made to The Cable Act of 1922, Mary was able to apply for U.S. citizenship. She applied like any immigrant would, including taking the U.S. Citizenship test. In 1939, she received her naturalization certificate. Under “former nationality, ” it lists: “American.”

As we await the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, I think of Mary. I share her story to honor her, and to remind us that this is not the beginning of the fight for birthright citizenship, and it won’t be the end either.

But with the spirit of Wong Kim Ark who defended birthright citizenship in 1898, Cecilia Wang, the ACLU’s National Legal Director leading the court fight today, and of course, Mary Wing, I will continue to fight for birthright citizenship for all. I hope the U.S. Supreme Court will too.

Josina Morita was elected to be Cook County Commissioner for the 13th District in November 2022, the first Asian American woman to sit on the board. Her human rights, racial justice and water justice work has been recognized locally and nationally. A working mom of two, Josina holds a B.A. in Sociology and International Race Relations from Pitzer College and a Masters in Urban Planning and Public Policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago.