The Supreme Court on Tuesday invalidated President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship, reaffirming the constitutional guarantee that virtually all children born in the United States automatically become citizens.
In a 6‑3 decision, the Court struck down the executive order, delivering a major setback to President Trump’s policy aimed at denying citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., delivering the majority opinion, held that the executive order contravened the 14th Amendment. He affirmed that children born in the United States—whether their parents are undocumented or holding temporary visas—are citizens from birth.
Justice Roberts emphasized, “Citizenship, then and now, is the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community. The framers of the 14th Amendment extended that promise to every free‑born person in this land.”
He concluded, “We keep that promise today.”
The legal challenge to birthright citizenship commenced on the first day of President Trump’s second term, when he unveiled an executive order titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.”
The order declared that automatic birthright citizenship would end for children born on U.S. soil, specifically excluding those whose parents entered the country illegally or were present on temporary visas such as student, work, or tourist permits.
The order was promptly challenged in court by civil‑rights groups, immigrant‑advocacy organizations, and expectant parents, who secured injunctions to block its implementation while litigation proceeded.
The policy never took effect, and there was little evidence that the administration had prepared the extensive restructuring of the citizenship system that would have been required if it had been implemented.
