The Supreme Court ruled to strike down President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, reaffirming that the Constitution guarantees citizenship to nearly all individuals born in the United States. In a decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court held that the order conflicted with the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which grants citizenship to anyone “born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Roberts emphasized that children born to parents who are in the country unlawfully or temporarily still meet both requirements of the clause and are therefore citizens at birth.
The ruling followed months of litigation. Trump issued the executive order on January 20, 2025, seeking to deny automatic citizenship to babies born in the U.S. to noncitizen parents without permanent legal status. Although scheduled to take effect within 30 days, federal courts blocked its enforcement nationwide. Earlier, the Supreme Court had limited lower courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions, but challenges continued, and a federal judge in New Hampshire again halted the policy, finding it likely unconstitutional. The administration appealed directly to the Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case.
In reaching its decision, the majority relied heavily on historical understanding. Roberts noted that birthright citizenship drew from English common law and was firmly embedded in American law through the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted after the Civil War to overturn the Dred Scott decision. He also pointed to the 1898 case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that nearly all persons born on U.S. soil are citizens. The Court rejected arguments that citizenship depends on a child’s “allegiance” or the parents’ domicile.
Ultimately, the Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship as a fundamental constitutional guarantee.
