30 June,2026 10:50 PM IST | Washington | mid-day online correspondent
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump`s executive order seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the US to undocumented immigrants and many temporary visa holders. PIC/AFP
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the United States (US) to undocumented immigrants and many temporary visa holders, ruling that such children are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The court held that children born in the US to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country are "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US and are therefore entitled to citizenship under the Constitution, news agency IANS reported.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said, "Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights -- to freely participate in our political community."
"The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land.' We keep that promise today," he wrote.
Trump had signed the executive order on January 20, 2025, the first day of his second term, directing federal agencies not to recognise US citizenship for children born in the country if their mothers were either in the US unlawfully or present temporarily on visas, and the father was neither a US citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.
The order was never implemented after multiple legal challenges resulted in nationwide injunctions.
The White House had argued that the Fourteenth Amendment "has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States" and maintained that children born to undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors were not automatically entitled to citizenship.
Rejecting the argument, the Supreme Court said the Citizenship Clause must be interpreted in light of its historical origins, the common law, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and longstanding constitutional precedent. The court ruled that children born in the US to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present remain subject to US jurisdiction and therefore acquire citizenship at birth.
Democratic lawmakers welcomed the ruling.
The Congressional Tri-Caucus said, "Today's decision affirms a fundamental constitutional principle that has defined our nation for generations: every child born in the United States is a citizen of the United States."
The lawmakers added, "While President Trump believes he is above the law, today's ruling serves as a reminder that he cannot override the Constitution or deny people the rights it guarantees with a stroke of a pen."
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who helped lead a multi-state legal challenge against the order, said, "Today's decision affirms a foundational tenet of American democracy: that every child born in this country, no matter their background, is equal under the law and can pursue the American Dream."
Former White House adviser Ajay Bhutoria described the ruling as "a historic victory for justice, the US Constitution, and the American Dream". He said the decision "reaffirms the foundational promise that has made our nation a beacon of freedom and opportunity for two and a half centuries".
Birthright citizenship is rooted in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War. It provides that all persons born or naturalised in the US, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the country. For more than a century, the provision has been widely understood to guarantee citizenship to almost everyone born on US soil.
(With IANS inputs)
