On the final day of its term, the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth, delivering a major blow to President Donald Trump's immigration agenda. The decision upheld a 150-year-old policy rooted in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on American soil. The ruling means that even if your parents are undocumented, overstayed their visas, or are just visiting, you are a US citizen the moment you are born in the country.
Birthright citizenship is the principle that anyone born within a country's territory automatically becomes a citizen. In the United States, this right is enshrined in the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War. The clause states: "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." Originally intended to grant citizenship to formerly enslaved people and their descendants, the provision has been interpreted by the Supreme Court to apply to nearly all children born in the US, regardless of their parents' immigration status. For over a century, this interpretation has been settled law, bolstered by earlier Supreme Court rulings.
“Explains US birthright citizenship, the Supreme Court ruling, and its implications for UK readers.”
President Trump sought to end birthright citizenship through an executive order on his first day back in office, arguing that children of undocumented immigrants and some temporary visitors were not "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" and thus not eligible. The Supreme Court rejected that argument. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said, "Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community." The decision was welcomed by civil rights groups but drew sharp dissents from conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito. In a 91-page dissent, Thomas argued that the majority's opinion "devalues" American citizenship, insisting the 14th Amendment was only meant for people like freed slaves who "had no other homeland." Justice Alito warned the ruling would "degrade" citizenship by making the children of "birth tourists" citizens. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, in a concurrence, directly rebutted Thomas, calling his view "myopic" and ignoring the amendment's purpose as an "anti-caste, anti-subordination reset."
For UK readers, the contrast is sharp. The UK does not grant automatic citizenship to everyone born on its soil; instead, citizenship typically depends on the parents' status. Birthright citizenship in the US can affect anyone who travels there while pregnant or who has family ties to the country. The ruling also has political ramifications: Trump vowed to continue fighting through legislation, tweeting that Congress should "start work on ending expensive, and unfair to our country, birthright citizenship." House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, expressed sympathy for Trump's view and cited concerns about "birthing tourism." However, changing the 14th Amendment would require a supermajority in Congress and ratification by three-quarters of states—a very high bar.
Q: What is birthright citizenship? Birthright citizenship is the legal principle that anyone born within a country's territory automatically becomes a citizen of that country. In the US, it is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.
Q: What did the Supreme Court decide? The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that children born in the US to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth, rejecting President Trump's attempt to end the policy via executive order.
Q: Why did President Trump want to end birthright citizenship? Trump argued that the 14th Amendment was not intended to cover children of undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors, whom he said are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US. He said the policy was "unfair" and prompted "birthing tourism."
What happens next? Trump has said he will push Congress to pass legislation ending birthright citizenship, though such a law would likely face constitutional challenges and require a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Any attempt to amend the Constitution itself would need even broader support. The Supreme Court's decision is final for now, but the political debate over immigration and citizenship is far from over.