The United States Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling that children born on American soil remain United States citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
In a landmark 6-3 decision delivered on Tuesday, the nation’s highest court reaffirmed that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizenship at birth to virtually all children born in the United States, including those whose parents are in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas.
The ruling represents one of the most significant judicial defeats for President Trump’s immigration agenda, effectively invalidating an executive order issued at the beginning of his second term that sought to end the long-established principle of automatic birthright citizenship.
Delivering the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts held that the President lacked the constitutional authority to alter the meaning of the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment through executive action, stressing that any such change would require constitutional or legislative action rather than a presidential directive.
The court reaffirmed more than a century of constitutional precedent established in the landmark 1898 United States v. Wong Kim Ark decision, which has consistently interpreted the Constitution as granting citizenship to nearly everyone born within U.S. territory, irrespective of their parents’ nationality or immigration status.
President Trump’s executive order had sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the United States unless at least one parent was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The administration argued that the constitutional phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” did not extend to undocumented migrants or temporary visitors.
However, the Supreme Court rejected that interpretation, maintaining the longstanding constitutional understanding that has shaped American citizenship law for more than 125 years.
Legal experts described the ruling as a major reaffirmation of constitutional protections under the 14th Amendment and a significant victory for immigrant families and civil rights advocates, many of whom had challenged the executive order shortly after it was signed.
The decision also preserves citizenship rights for hundreds of thousands of children born annually in the United States to parents who are either undocumented or temporarily residing in the country.
Although the conservative-majority court has generally been receptive to several of President Trump’s policy initiatives, the ruling underscored the justices’ position that constitutional guarantees cannot be altered through executive action alone.
President Trump reacted to the judgment by criticising the ruling and renewing calls for Congress to pursue legislative measures addressing birthright citizenship, while supporters of the decision hailed it as a victory for constitutional rights and the rule of law.
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