US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump's Order to Restrict Birthright Citizenship

The United States Supreme Court has rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship. Chief Justice John Roberts emphasised that all children born in the United States are protected by the Constitution. On 20 January 2025, Trump signed an executive order aimed at preventing those born in the US to parents on temporary visas or who are illegal immigrants from automatically obtaining US citizenship. The Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday (30 June) means Trump’s attempt to limit citizenship has failed. The ruling had a 6 to 3 vote margin. Chief Justice John Roberts determined that children born in the US ‘to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily’ are ‘citizens from birth’ under the 14th Amendment. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Brett Kavanaugh joined the Chief Justice in the majority. The US has granted citizenship to every person born in the country since 1868. This right is enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution and reinforced by subsequent Supreme Court rulings. ‘Citizenship, then and now, carries with it the right to participate freely in our political community,’ Justice Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. ‘The framers of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to “every person born free in this land”,’ he added. ‘We keep that promise today,’ the Chief Justice stated. Trump responded to the court’s ruling with regret, pledging to fight to abolish birthright citizenship through legislation. ‘The Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, which is very unfortunate for our country, but we can easily overcome it in Congress through legislation,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.