The United States Supreme Court has struck down an executive order issued by former President Donald Trump that sought to restrict birthright citizenship, reaffirming the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment.
In a 6–3 ruling on Trump v. Barbara, the court held that nearly all individuals born on US soil are entitled to citizenship, upholding a more than century-old legal principle.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson in concluding that the executive order violated the Constitution.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh issued a separate opinion stating that while he agreed with the outcome, he believed the policy also conflicted with federal law rather than solely constitutional grounds.
The dissenting justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — argued that the majority’s interpretation of the Citizenship Clause misrepresented its historical intent and expanded its scope beyond what was originally designed.
Trump’s order, signed at the start of his return to office, had aimed to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily. The policy was immediately challenged in multiple federal courts and never came into effect.
The 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause guarantees citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” a provision long upheld by precedent dating back to a landmark 1898 ruling.
Legal experts estimate that the proposed policy could have affected hundreds of thousands of births annually, significantly altering the country’s immigration and citizenship framework.
The case marks another major ruling in which the Supreme Court has curtailed key elements of Trump’s policy agenda, following an earlier decision that struck down aspects of his tariff measures.
