this United States Supreme Court Already overthrown the president Donald Trumpexecutive orders aimed at restricting birthright citizenshipruling that it violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. According to NBC News, the court ruled 6 to 3 that Trump’s executive order on January 20, 2025 was illegal.
Five justices concluded that the order conflicted with the Constitution’s longstanding interpretation of birthright citizenship, while Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the order violated federal law but not necessarily the Constitution.
The executive order seeks to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born in the country unless at least one parent is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.
The policy was blocked by a lower court shortly after it was signed and never went into effect.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, rejected the government’s explanation, saying there was “insufficient evidence” to support it. “Citizenship, then and now, is the right to have rights; the right to participate freely in our political communities,” Roberts wrote. “We are delivering on that promise today.”
What is the Fourteenth Amendment?
The Fourteenth Amendment is one of the most important amendments to the United States Constitution. According to the BBC, the act was approved in 1868 after the end of the American Civil War and was intended to guarantee citizenship and equal legal protection to former slaves born in the United States.
Its citizenship clause states:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside.”
This provision forms the legal basis for birthright citizenship, also known as “jus soli” (“right to the land”), under which nearly everyone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a U.S. citizen regardless of the immigration status of his or her parents.
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The only widely recognized exceptions include children born to foreign diplomats.
The Amendment’s interpretation was solidified in the landmark 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that a man born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents was a U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment.
Why did Trump challenge the amendment?
The Trump administration has argued that the term “subject to its jurisdiction” should not apply to children born to undocumented immigrants or to parents temporarily in the United States on visas, the BBC reported.
Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), challenged the executive order, arguing that the Constitution guarantees citizenship based on birth in the United States, not on the immigration status of parents.
The ACLU also warned that ending birthright citizenship would create “a permanent subclass of persons born in the United States.”
After the ruling, Trump called on Congress to pass legislation reflecting his proposals, while the American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the decision as a reaffirmation of long-standing constitutional guarantees.
