The US Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, reaffirming that nearly all children born on American soil are citizens under the Constitution.
In a 6–3 ruling on Tuesday, the court held that Trump’s executive order, aimed at denying citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders, violated the 14th Amendment. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said such children are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore entitled to citizenship at birth.
The decision upholds long-standing legal precedent, including the 1898 ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which confirmed that birth in the US guarantees citizenship in most cases.
Trump signed the executive order at the start of his second term as part of a broader crackdown on immigration. However, lower courts quickly blocked the policy, and it never took effect nationwide.
The administration had argued that birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and so-called “birth tourism.” But the court rejected this interpretation, emphasizing that any change to constitutional rights must come through Congress—not executive action.
The ruling marks a major setback for Trump’s immigration agenda and reinforces more than a century of constitutional interpretation on citizenship rights.
