On April 1, 2026, demonstrators in support of birthright citizenship gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
Mehmet Ethel | Anadolu | Getty Images
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld citizenship rights for people born in the United States, rejecting President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to overturn long-standing constitutional principles for children born to many immigrants.
The decision stated that “children born in the United States to illegally or temporarily present parents are subject to the ‘jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
During oral arguments in April, the justices on the court indicated they would affirm that non-Americans born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship.
Trump was the first sitting president to attend oral arguments in the case.
The case is known as Trump v. Barbara.
The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, adopted in 1868, states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, shall be citizens of the United States and of the States in which they reside.”
President Trump signed an executive order revoking that right on January 20, 2025, his first day back at the White House.
The order stated that after 30 days from its effective date, infants born in the United States would not be entitled to citizenship documents if their parents were in the country illegally or were undocumented workers.
Multiple U.S. district judges have since ruled that President Trump’s order is unconstitutional.
Two federal appellate circuits then upheld injunctions blocking the order from taking effect.
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