Wednesday, July 1, 2026 - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 30, 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.
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