Birthright Citizenship Affirmed
Supreme Court Upholds Broad Birthright Citizenship, Rejecting Trump's Proposed Restrictions
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The Supreme Court struck down President Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship in a 6-3 ruling on June 30, 2026 — the final day of its term. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, held that the 14th Amendment automatically grants citizenship to nearly anyone born on U.S. soil, calling citizenship "the right to have rights" that cannot be rewritten by executive decree, according to CBS News.
Trump's Executive Order 14160, signed on his first day back in office in January 2025, sought to deny citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants or temporary visa holders. Multiple lower courts had already blocked it as "blatantly unconstitutional" before the high court delivered its final blow, Miami Herald reported.
A Century of Settled Law the Court Refused to Break
The ruling rests on a legal foundation dating back to 1868. The 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War to overturn the *Dred Scott* decision, states that "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens." In 1898, the Court ruled in *United States v. Wong Kim Ark* that a child born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents was a full U.S. citizen, setting the bedrock precedent for *jus soli* — the right of the soil — according to The Texas Tribune.
The Trump administration argued the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction" was meant to exclude those in the country illegally. Roberts rejected that reading directly, writing that the framers of the 14th Amendment had explicitly considered and rejected that narrower view. Justice Kavanaugh concurred on separate grounds, finding the order also violated the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which had codified the amendment's language into federal statute, CBS News reported.
250,000 Babies a Year Were at the Center of This Fight
About 250,000 babies are born annually to undocumented immigrants in the U.S., making up roughly 6% of all births, according to The Texas Tribune. Latinos and Asians are the most affected groups. Among Asian parents without legal status, the rate is 41 births per 1,000. For Latino parents, it is 17 per 1,000.
The lead plaintiff, identified only as "Barbara," was an expectant mother whose child was due in October 2025. Her case became the vehicle for the entire constitutional challenge. The ACLU, which led the legal fight, called the decision a victory for the "fabric of the nation." Legal scholar Jessica Levinson of Loyola Law School called it a "major defeat" for the president, saying courts were unwilling to let the executive branch "rewrite" the Constitution by decree, NBC4 reported.
What a Reversal Would Have Meant for Hospitals and States
Had the order stood, parents in every U.S. delivery room would have needed to prove their immigration status to get a birth certificate for their newborn, according to Elora Mukherjee of Columbia Law School, as cited by The Texas Tribune. State and local governments would have faced the burden of building a two-tiered system to decide who qualifies for basic services, schools, and healthcare.
Former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin warned the harm would have been "probably irreversible," with experts describing the potential creation of a "stateless" class of U.S.-born residents as leading to "unmitigated chaos" for government agencies, according to Post-Gazette.
Three Dissenters Signal a Door Left Open for Congress
Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented. Their opinions argued for a narrower reading of "jurisdiction" — one that would tie citizenship to a parent's lawful allegiance to the U.S. While they could not command a majority, legal experts noted their view signals a possible future path: a legislative attempt by Congress to limit birthright citizenship, rather than an executive order, CBS News reported.
The ruling lands just months before the 2026 midterm elections, and immigration is expected to dominate the campaign. Trump has a history of sharply criticizing justices after unfavorable rulings. The U.S. is one of 32 countries worldwide that offer birthright citizenship — a policy that, after Tuesday's decision, remains firmly in place, according to Review Journal.
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