The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship in the US.
The court, in a 6-3 decision, struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order that would have undercut the concept that any person born on American soil is automatically a citizen.
In a decision by Chief Justice John Roberts, in Trump v. Barbara, the justices agreed with the challengers, as well as all of the lower courts around the country that have considered the issue, that Trump’s order cannot be reconciled with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which confers citizenship on anyone “born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
Writing for the majority, Roberts emphasized that the “children born of parents unlawfully or temporarily present in the United States” “satisfy both elements of the Citizenship Clause.” “Under the Constitution,” he concluded, “they are citizens at birth.”
Justice Samuel Alito called the ruling both “one of the most important decisions in the history of the Court” and “a serious mistake.”
“Careful analysis of the text of the Fourteenth Amendment and the process that led to its adoption shows that it does not degrade the concept of United States citizenship in this way. Instead, the Fourteenth Amendment confers citizenship on only those children who, at birth, owe allegiance solely to this country.”
The decision marks a major setback for Trump, who has long campaigned against birthright citizenship and made its abolition a key component of his immigration agenda.
Trump issued the executive order on Jan. 20, 2025, shortly after he was sworn into office for a second term, that babies who are born in the United States to parents who are in this country either illegally or temporarily are not automatically entitled to citizenship.
Opponents of the policy argued that the order violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that persons “born or naturalised” in the United States are citizens.
Chief Justice John Roberts cited the historical origins of the 14th Amendment, which was adopted after the American Civil War to settle questions surrounding the citizenship of formerly enslaved people born in the United States.
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights – to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land,’” Roberts wrote.
“We keep that promise today.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling effectively blocks the implementation of the executive order and reaffirms constitutional protections for children born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
