The US Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling that children born in the United States remain entitled to automatic citizenship regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
In a 6–3 decision delivered on the final day of its term, the court upheld the long-established interpretation of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, dealing a significant setback to one of Trump’s key immigration policies.
Trump had signed an executive order on the first day of his second term seeking to end automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who were in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas.
The order was blocked by lower courts, which ruled that it conflicted with the 14th Amendment’s guarantee that nearly everyone born on US soil is a citizen.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts affirmed that constitutional protection.
“Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause,” Roberts wrote.
In an unprecedented move for a sitting US president, Trump personally attended oral arguments before the Supreme Court in April.
He remained in court for submissions by Solicitor General John Sauer, who defended the administration’s position, but left before arguments by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawyer Cecillia Wang, who argued in support of birthright citizenship.
