“This month is the 158th anniversary of the 14th Amendment. That amendment guarantees citizenship and equal rights to everyone born in the United States. Today, people are attacking those rights, including birthright citizenship and the right to vote. I will fight to protect these rights.”

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the proud co-chair of the House Democratic Caucus’ Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force. This month, we mark the 158th anniversary of one of the most important amendments ever added to our Constitution. Forged in the aftermath of the Civil War and paid for by the blood, sweat, and tears of Black freedom fighters and their allies, the 14th Amendment declared that every person born in these United States is anointed with inalienable rights and responsibilities, never to be infringed upon by the actions of any State or entity. Together, with the 13th and 15th amendments, it marked what historians call: The second founding of our Nation, an effort to build a democracy that truly includes everyone. History reminds us that writing rights into our Constitution is only the beginning. For decades after Reconstruction, millions of Black Americans were denied those very rights through segregation, voter suppression, and racial violence. The Constitution had not changed. What changed was whether or not our country chose to enforce it. It took generations of organizing and sacrifice before Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and began making good on the promise that existed for nearly a century. That history matters because it teaches us an important lesson: Constitutional rights do not appear or disappear overnight. They are built or weakened piece by piece, action by action. Court decisions, legislation, political rhetoric, actions that slowly erode the institutions designed to protect our democracy. Viewed in isolation, the current challenges to birthright citizenship, due process, equal protection, and the freedom to vote may seem like isolated political actions, but viewed together it becomes crystal clear that our Constitution and the promise of our second founding is under attack. What is more? It is clear that it is our duty as true patriots to combat it. That is why House Democrats created the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force. Our mission is simple: Defend the constitutional rights that generations of Americans fought to secure. Our rights are not guaranteed simply because they are written down. They endure because people defend them. The generations before us marched, organized, and sacrificed to make the promises of the 14th Amendment real. They understood that democracy requires participation, accountability, and constant vigilance. Now, that responsibility belongs to us. Every generation faces a defining test. For generations that ratified the 14th Amendment, it was whether America would finally recognize citizenship and the humanity of those who had been enslaved. For the generations that marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, it was whether every American would have an equal voice at the ballot box. Our generation faces a different question: Will we preserve those constitutional guarantees for the generations that follow? As long as I have the privilege of serving in this House, I will continue fighting to protect that promise for every family, community, and generation to come. Mr. Speaker, the Constitution is only as strong as our willingness to defend it. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver).”

“The 14th Amendment promises equal rights and citizenship to everyone born in this country. The current administration is trying to weaken those rights. I am working to protect this amendment because weakening rights for some people puts everyone's rights at risk.”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today as the proud co-chair of the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force because I believe in one simple truth: The 14th Amendment is now under siege. For more than 150 years this amendment has stood as one of the greatest promises our Nation has ever made: That every person born in this country is entitled to equal protection under the law and that no government may deny anyone due process simply because of who they are or where they were an immigrant from. It was born from one of the darkest chapters in American history. After slavery ended, our Nation faced a choice: We could preserve injustice under a different name, or we could expand the promise of freedom. The 14th Amendment was our answer. It declared boldly that citizenship could not be rationed, equality could not be optional, and liberty belonged to all of us. Today, that promise is being tested. This administration has made no secret of its willingness to chip away at the constitutional protections generations of Americans have fought, marched, bled, and even died to secure. They are using every tool at their disposal to weaken the very rights that safeguard us all. For me, this fight is deeply personal. I was born in the Jim Crow South, little place called Waxahachie, Texas. I came of age in a nation where equal protection existed only on paper long before it existed in practice. I marched with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference starting when I was 15 years old. The SCLC was led by a young preacher by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. I marched because I believed America could become what it claimed to be. I believed that the Constitution should protect every citizen equally. I witnessed firsthand what happens when governments decide some people deserve fewer rights than others. The progress we celebrate today did not happen by accident. It happened because brave Americans demanded that the 14th Amendment finally be honored. It was the Equal Protection Clause that became the constitutional foundation for Brown v. Board of Education, ending legally sanctioned segregation in our public schools. It was the 14th Amendment that strengthened the fight against discriminatory voting laws, housing discrimination, and unequal treatment in employment. It was the 14th Amendment that has protected interracial marriage, expanded equality for women, safeguarded the rights of people with disabilities, and affirmed the dignity of LGBTQ Americans. Time and time again, when our Nation has taken a step toward justice, it has done so because someone stood up and insisted that the words of the 14th Amendment actually meant what they say. That is why attack of any kind on equal protection and due process are not isolated legal disputes. They are attacks on the very foundation of modern civil rights. They are attacks on the constitutional principle that tell every child they matter before the law. They are the attacks on the guarantees that protect workers from exploitation, families from discrimination, religious liberty, voting rights, and the simple expectation that government must treat people fairly. When government weakens these protections for one group, it weakens them for everyone. History teaches us that constitutional rights are rarely lost all at once. They are chipped away slowly, one exception, one excuse, one precedent at a time until Americans wake up and discover that what once seemed guaranteed has quietly disappeared. We cannot allow this to happen. Our constituents know what is at stake. They understand that the promise of America has been bigger than politics. They know that the Constitution belongs to every American, not just those in power. As the co-chair of the 14th Amendment Task Force, I stand with my colleagues in defense of one of the most important guarantees ever written into our Constitution. We will defend equal protection. We will defend due process. We will defend, yes, birthright citizenship. We will continue fighting until the promise of the 14th Amendment is not merely something we celebrate in history books, but something that every American can experience in their daily lives. The struggle to perfect our Union has never been easy, but every generation is called to protect the freedoms it inherited. Now, it is our turn.”

“I helped start a group to protect the 14th Amendment. We must protect its promise that every person has equal rights and fair treatment under the law.”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Chair Aguilar and my fellow co- chairs, Representatives Cleaver, Randall, Simon, and Subramanyam, for their leadership in launching the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force. This work is about protecting the Constitution’s promise that every person deserves equal protection, due process, and the full rights of citizenship. Those principles have shaped generations of progress in our country, and they are worth defending today just as they were 158 years ago. We owe it to those who came before us and those who will follow us to ensure that that promise endures. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.”