The Supreme Court of the United States has struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for many children born in the United States, ruling that the order violates the Fourteenth Amendment.
Key points:
- The Court ruled 6–3 that children born on U.S. soil are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment, regardless of whether their parents are undocumented immigrants or are in the U.S. temporarily.
- The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who said the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause protects birthright citizenship and that an executive order cannot override it.
- Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
- Following the decision, Trump criticized the ruling and called on Congress to pursue legislation to change birthright citizenship rules.
The ruling is a major setback for Trump’s immigration agenda and reaffirms the long-standing constitutional principle that, with very limited exceptions (such as children of foreign diplomats), people born in the United States are U.S. citizens by birth.
