President Trump became the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court oral arguments on Wednesday and watched as key justices cast doubt on his effort to restrict birthright citizenship.
Why it matters: Even Trump's unprecedented courtroom appearance couldn't shield his executive order from skeptical questioning by justices, a sign the court may reject his attempt to redefine who counts as an American.
The latest: A majority of justices — including some conservatives — appeared skeptical of the administration's bid to narrow birthright citizenship during more than two hours of oral arguments.
- Chief Justice John Roberts called the government's legal reasoning "quirky." When Solicitor General John Sauer cited the advent of flight, Roberts replied: "It's a new world. It's the same Constitution."
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh dismissed Sauer's comparisons to other countries' citizenship policies. "We try to interpret American law with American precedent based on American history."
Reality check: The vast majority of countries in the Americas — 27 — grant automatic birthright citizenship, according to Pew Research Center data.
- It is rare outside the Western Hemisphere. No European country offers unconditional birthright citizenship, and only six countries outside the Americas do.
Context: Trump, on his first day back in office, signed the executive order at the center of the case, restricting a right rooted in the U.S. Constitution that the Supreme Court affirmed more than 125 years ago.
- Wednesday's arguments centered on the meaning of five words in the 14th Amendment: "subject to the jurisdiction thereof."
- The administration argued that those words require parents to be permanently and legally settled in the U.S.
- The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is representing the plaintiff in the case, said the phrase covers virtually everyone on U.S. soil, with exceptions like diplomats and invading armies.
After oral arguments concluded, Trump posted on Truth Social, "We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow 'Birthright' Citizenship!"
Between the lines: The president's order acted on a once-fringe belief that U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants are not entitled to citizenship, a view linked by critics to a racist "white replacement" conspiracy theory, per Axios' Russell Contreras.
- Trump posted on Truth Social this week that birthright citizenship "is about the BABIES OF SLAVES" and was never meant for immigrants.
- "Dumb Judges and Justices will not a great Country make!" he wrote on Monday.
- Courts have held since 1898 that the amendment applies to virtually all children born on U.S. soil.
Zoom out: Trump railed against Supreme Court justices who struck down his sweeping tariffs agenda in a majority ruling in February.
- However, the high court sided with him in several cases last year, including letting him fire federal workers, resume mass deportations and ban transgender people from military service.
Go deeper: The Supreme Court cases that could shape 2026
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout and to update the headline.
