US Supreme Court blocks Trump's bid to end birthright citizenship, affirming constitutional rights for US-born children.
It was the ruling many immigrant families had been waiting for. And it came down hard.
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump's executive order targeting birthright citizenship, preserving what the justices called a defining principle of being American.
The decision was 6-3. The majority held that children born in the United States to undocumented parents or parents on temporary visas are entitled to US citizenship.
Trump had made this a cornerstone of his second-term immigration agenda. He signed the order on January 20, 2025 his first day back in the White House seeking to revoke citizenship for children of undocumented parents, those on temporary visas, or short-term visitors.
The plan never took off. Federal judges across the country blocked it within weeks, saying it contradicted the Constitution. The Supreme Court has now made that position final.
In its ruling, the court reaffirmed the 14th Amendment, which has guaranteed citizenship to anyone born on US soil for more than 150 years. The justices said the language is clear and pointed back to the 1898 United States v. Wong Kim Ark precedent that settled the matter long ago.
The court specifically upheld a lower court decision that stopped Trump's directive to federal agencies not to recognize citizenship of children born in the US if neither parent is a citizen or green card holder.
Three conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented, backing Trump's narrower reading of the Constitution.
Trump did not hide his frustration. Shortly after the ruling, he posted on social media, sarcastically congratulating Chinese President Xi Jinping on what he called China's "massive Birthright Citizenship WIN".
For Trump's team, it is a major setback. The White House had argued that "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" in the 14th Amendment should exclude children of non-citizens. The court disagreed, calling it a settled right.
Rights groups are calling it a victory for families. An estimated 150,000 children are born each year to parents without permanent status. Under Trump's order, they would have been left stateless.
The fight is not entirely over. Hours after the ruling, the Justice Department directed prosecutors to prioritize investigations into so-called "birth tourism" schemes, warning that visa fraud to secure citizenship could still lead to criminal charges.
But for now, the message from America's highest court is simple: if you are born in the United States, you are an American citizen. No executive order can change that.
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