The Trump administration has finally asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s executive order, which aims to restrict birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are either here illegally or temporarily. This move comes after the administration spent months appealing lower court rulings that have consistently blocked the order, and it sets up a major showdown at the high court that could decide the fate of a fundamental constitutional right by next summer.
The core of the issue is the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” For well over a century, this clause has been understood to grant automatic citizenship to nearly everyone born on U.S. soil. However, Trump’s executive order, signed on the first day of his second term, directly challenges this long-held understanding, with the administration arguing it’s trying to “confirm the original meaning” of the clause.
