US President Donald Trump
President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship has suffered a major setback after the US Supreme Court ruled that children born on American soil remain entitled to US citizenship.
In a 6-3 decision delivered on the final day of its term, the court upheld the long-standing interpretation of the Citizenship Clause in the 14th Amendment.
Trump had signed an executive order seeking to deny automatic citizenship to children born to parents living in the United States illegally or on temporary visas.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said, “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.”
The administration had argued that unrestricted birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and “birth tourism,” but the justices rejected that position.
The ruling also reaffirmed the court’s landmark 1898 decision in the case of Wong Kim Ark, which established that most people born in the United States are citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Trump personally attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court in April, where his administration defended the executive order as part of its broader immigration agenda.
The decision marks another major legal setback for Trump after recent court defeats involving his global tariff policy and his attempt to remove Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.
