00:00 The episode explores the story of Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese immigrant whose court case in the late 1800s would have a significant impact on US immigration laws and the definition of American citizenship.

06:08 Wong Kim Ark fought for his birthright citizenship in the United States, which was denied to him due to his race, and his case had a significant impact on the debate about who gets to be an American.

12:38 Wong Kim Ark, a Chinese immigrant and U.S. citizen, was denied entry into the United States due to the Chinese Exclusion Act and became a test case challenging birthright citizenship.

17:53 Chinese immigrants formed communities in Chinatowns across the US to protect themselves from violence, but they were still targeted in events like the 1871 lynching in Los Angeles and the 1877 attack in San Francisco's Chinatown, leading Wong Kim Ark's family to eventually return to China; anti-Chinese sentiment grew due to economic downturns and politicians scapegoating Chinese immigrants, which culminated in the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882.

23:27 After returning to China to get married, Wong Kim Ark was denied re-entry into the US in 1895, despite being admitted as a US citizen twice before, and was suddenly stripped of his citizenship.

28:08 Wong Kim-Ark's case focused on whether a person born in the US to non-citizen parents is a US citizen, and this question hinged on the interpretation of the Citizenship Clause in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

34:36 The case of Wong Kim-Ark, a Chinese man born on American soil, raises the question of whether he is a citizen of the United States, and although he initially wins his case, the government appeals it all the way up to the Supreme Court in an effort to enforce and expand the Chinese Exclusion Act.

39:46 Two lawyers, Maxwell Evarts and J. Hubley Ashton, who believed in racial equality, represented Wong Kim-Ark in his case before the Supreme Court, where the argument focused on whether Wong was subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and whether the 14th Amendment was unconstitutional.

45:32 The Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark and others similarly situated are entitled to birthright citizenship, regardless of the immigration status of their parents.

51:06 The Supreme Court ruled that Wong Kim Ark was a birthright citizen, but he still faced challenges and had to prove his citizenship multiple times.

56:30 Wong Kim Ark's fight for recognition established birthright citizenship for everyone, securing the rights of millions of people in the United States.