Are children of undocumented parents US citizens? Trump wants Supreme Court to say 'no'

Appeal sets stage for a high-stakes ruling on 14th Amendment rights by early summer

Donald Trump’s administration has taken its fight against birthright citizenship straight to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to uphold an executive order that would deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas.

The petition, shared with the Associated Press, opens the door to a landmark constitutional showdown that could reshape America’s long-standing understanding of citizenship.

Why this matters

Birthright citizenship has been a bedrock principle of American law for more than 125 years, grounded in the 14th Amendment, which was ratified after the Civil War to guarantee citizenship to formerly enslaved people and their descendants. Under current rules, anyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen, with narrow exceptions for the children of foreign diplomats and occupying forces.

Trump’s order, signed on his first day of his second term, seeks to rewrite that understanding by arguing that children of undocumented immigrants or temporary visitors are not 'subject to the jurisdiction' of the United States.

What the lower courts said

So far, every lower court to review the order has blocked it. Judges across the country have ruled, or strongly suggested, that the move violates the 14th Amendment.

9th Circuit ruling (San Francisco): In July, the court held that states suing over the order needed a nationwide injunction because having different citizenship rules in different states would be unworkable.

New Hampshire ruling: A federal judge blocked the order in a class-action case that covered all children who could be affected.

These decisions remain in effect, meaning Trump’s restrictions are not currently enforceable anywhere in the U.S.

The government’s argument

Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the administration, said lower courts wrongly conferred “the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people.” He warned that blocking the policy undermined border security and a matter of “prime importance to the president and his administration.”

The Justice Department is not asking the Supreme Court to immediately lift the injunctions but is pushing for a full hearing that could result in a ruling by next summer.

The challengers’ stance

Civil rights groups, states, and families have lined up against the policy. Cody Wofsy, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who represents affected children, minced no words:

“This executive order is illegal, full stop,” Wofsy told AP. “No amount of maneuvering from the administration is going to change that. We will continue to ensure that no baby’s citizenship is ever stripped away by this cruel and senseless order.”

What happens next

The Supreme Court has not yet docketed the case. If it agrees to hear arguments, the earliest proceedings could come in late winter or early spring, with a decision by June or July.

While the justices recently curtailed the use of nationwide injunctions, they left the door open for other court orders with nationwide effect, such as class actions. That means even if the injunction rule is weakened, Trump’s birthright citizenship order still faces an uphill constitutional battle.

For now, the 14th Amendment stands as it has for more than a century: if you’re born on U.S. soil, you’re a citizen. But Trump’s Supreme Court appeal marks the first time in modern history that the nation’s highest court may be asked to directly rule on whether that principle still holds.