Actor John Leguizamo stopped by Comedy Central and The Daily Show’s “In My Opinion” segment on Wednesday to give his thoughts on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that upheld birthright citizenship. According to Leguizamo, critics of the decision should be careful what they wish for because once upon a time “every white person was here illegally.”
At one point, Leguizamo read from the relevant portion of the 14th Amendment to suggest the case should not have been controversial, “Look, it's not like the 14th Amendment is confusing. It says, ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.’”
Leguizamo then continued with the idea that the outcome of the case should have been obvious while throwing in some self-promotion, “Forget Hooked on Phonics. You could understand that sentence if you were hooked on crack. My god, you don't need to translate it into modern language, like it's some kind of ancient Greek text that's getting an incredible adaptation in theaters this weekend. But the point is, America works on the Olive Garden rule: When you're here, you're family.”
The whole debate was about what “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” means, but Leguizamo was instead interested in some tortured reductio ad absurdum as he talked over The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in America, A.D. 1620 painting, “Now, the Trump administration says that we're not talking about all children of immigrants. We’re only saying birthright citizenship doesn't apply to children of people here illegally or temporarily. But how far back do you want to take that? Because at some point, every white person was here illegally.”
Leguizamo intentionally made things more complicated than they had to be. The answer, the parents, was in his question. Invoking the Pilgrims is an argument about immigration more broadly, not the specifics of birthright citizenship or the 14th Amendment because Leguizamo ultimately believes that if someone manages to get into the United States, they should be allowed to stay. Then, when people object, he makes some elaborate but insane and irrelevant point about how the historical existence of the Spanish Empire proves they are racists.
Here is a transcript for the July 15 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
7/15/2026
11:14 PM ET
JOHN LEGUIZAMO: Look, it's not like the 14th Amendment is confusing. It says, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
Forget Hooked on Phonics. You could understand that sentence if you were hooked on crack. My god, you don't need to translate it into modern language, like it's some kind of ancient Greek text that's getting an incredible adaptation in theaters this weekend.
But the point is, America works on the Olive Garden rule: When you're here, you're family. Like these breadsticks. Garlicky.
Now, the Trump administration says that we're not talking about all children of immigrants. We’re only saying birthright citizenship doesn't apply to children of people here illegally or temporarily. But how far back do you want to take that? Because at some point, every white person was here illegally.
