The Supreme Court ruled against US President Donald Trump’s attempt to end automatic birthright citizenship in a 6-3 decision Tuesday, preserving over a century of legal precedent and dealing a setback to a key administration priority.
The court blocked Trump’s executive order, signed on the first day of his second term, that sought to deny citizenship to children born in the United States to illegal and temporary migrants. The case centered on the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause, which states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
Trump’s lawyers argued that the term “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” limits birthright citizenship to children with at least one parent with US citizenship or lawful permanent residency. The order was challenged immediately after it was signed, with lower courts blocking it from taking effect.
The decision came on the Supreme Court’s final day of opinions for the term, which began in October. Trump closely followed the case and attended oral arguments in April, becoming the first sitting president to do so. Immediately after the decision, House Speaker Mike Johnson reacted to the news, telling reporters “I’m very disappointed in that outcome.”