The 6-3 ruling preserves the long-standing constitutional guarantee of automatic citizenship for nearly everyone born on US soil
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump‘s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, reaffirming that nearly everyone born on American soil is entitled to US citizenship under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
In a 6-3 ruling delivered on the final day of its term, the court struck down Trump’s executive order that sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
The decision preserves the long-established interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, ensuring that children born in the US, with very limited exceptions such as those born to foreign diplomats or occupying forces, remain American citizens by birth.
Court rejects executive order
Trump signed the executive order on the first day of his second term as part of a broader immigration crackdown. However, the policy had been blocked by multiple lower courts and never came into effect.
While hearing the case in April, both conservative and liberal justices raised concerns over the legality of the order. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld decades of constitutional precedent and federal law, ruling that the administration could not alter birthright citizenship through executive action.
The ruling relied heavily on the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, as well as the landmark 1898 United States v. Wong Kim Ark decision, which affirmed citizenship for children born in the US to foreign nationals.
Trump administration’s argument rejected
The Trump administration argued that children born to non-citizens were not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore should not automatically receive citizenship.
The court rejected that interpretation, maintaining the constitutional understanding that has governed birthright citizenship for more than a century.
According to estimates by the Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University’s Population Research Institute, more than 250,000 babies born annually in the United States could have been affected had the order taken effect.
Policy would have affected legal immigrants too
Although Trump’s immigration agenda has largely focused on illegal immigration, the executive order would also have applied to children born to people legally residing in the United States, including international students, temporary workers and individuals awaiting permanent residency.
The judgment marks the first final Supreme Court ruling on one of Trump’s immigration policies during his second term and represents a significant setback for the administration’s effort to redefine citizenship through executive action.
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