US Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Bid to Restrict Birthright Citizenship
The US Supreme Court has rejected former President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship, dealing a major setback to one of his key immigration policies.
In a 6-3 ruling issued Tuesday, the court upheld a lower court decision that blocked Trump’s executive order, which sought to deny automatic US citizenship to children born in the United States if neither parent was a US citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.
The legal challenge centered on the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted as granting citizenship to nearly all individuals born on US soil. Opponents of the policy argued that Trump’s order violated the Constitution and decades of legal precedent.
The administration had argued that children of undocumented immigrants and certain temporary visa holders should not automatically receive citizenship, claiming the Constitution’s requirement that individuals be “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States excludes such cases.
Legal experts estimated that the policy could have affected the citizenship status of up to 250,000 babies born annually in the country.
The ruling came just days before the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding and reaffirmed the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment, including principles established in the landmark 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
The decision marks the second major defeat for Trump at the Supreme Court this year, following a February ruling that struck down his broad tariff policy. However, the court’s conservative majority has continued to support several other immigration-related measures advanced by the administration.
The ruling effectively preserves birthright citizenship nationwide while ending one of the most closely watched legal battles over US immigration policy.
