The US Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to limit birthright citizenship, dealing a significant blow to one of his key anti-immigration policies. On the final day of its term, the court ruled 6-3 to uphold the right to US citizenship for nearly everyone born on American soil.
Last year, on the first day of his second term, Trump signed an executive order stating that children born in the US to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas would not automatically receive citizenship. Lower courts blocked this order, citing the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which grants citizenship to almost all born in the US.
The Supreme Court majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by two conservative and three liberal justices, agreed with this interpretation. Roberts wrote, “Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are subject to US jurisdiction and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment.”
In a rare move, Trump personally attended oral arguments in April but left before the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney defending birthright citizenship presented. The ACLU welcomed the ruling as a reaffirmation of the fundamental American promise that anyone born here is a citizen.
Trump’s effort was part of a broader immigration crackdown, including mass expulsions and ending deportation protections for nationals from multiple countries. His administration argued that unrestricted birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and “birth tourism,” where foreigners come to the US solely to give birth.
The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to all born or naturalized in the US and subject to its jurisdiction, excluding children of foreign diplomats. The Trump administration claimed the amendment was intended for former slaves, not children of undocumented migrants or visitors, and that those here illegally or on visas are not fully under US jurisdiction.
The Supreme Court rejected this narrow view, citing the landmark 1898 case of Wong Kim Ark, born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents, who was denied reentry under exclusion laws but upheld as a US citizen by birthright. Roberts highlighted this precedent as guaranteeing citizenship to all born on US soil.
This ruling marks the third major legal defeat for Trump this term, following setbacks on his global tariffs and a blocked attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.