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Trump v. Barbara presented a straightforward question with potentially enormous consequences: Does the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee United States citizenship to children born in the United States when their parents are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country? The Supreme Court answered yes.

However the Supreme Court rules in Trump v. Barbara, the decision will have serious real world consequences. While the case centers on the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, its effects may ripple into industries that depend heavily on immigrant labor, not to mention affecting millions of families across the United States.

The issue boils down to this: whether Congress quietly transferred one of its most consequential economic powers to the executive branch through a broadly-worded emergency statute. The Supreme Court says it did not.

Texas's and California's mechanic's liens provisions are almost identical, but only Texas has what can be called a "constitutional mechanic's lien." Why is that?