Supreme Court to decide if Trump’s birthright citizenship order is unconstitutional
The Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of President Donald Trump’s order on birthright citizenship, which declares that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens. The justices will hear Trump’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that struck down the citizenship restrictions, which have not taken effect anywhere in the country. The case is set to be argued in the spring, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.
Trump’s birthright citizenship order, signed on the first day of his second term, is part of his administration’s immigration crackdown, which includes other actions like immigration enforcement surges in several cities and the use of the Alien Enemies Act. The administration is facing multiple court challenges, with the Supreme Court sending mixed signals in emergency orders issued.
Lower courts have consistently struck down the executive order as unconstitutional, even after a Supreme Court ruling limiting judges’ use of nationwide injunctions. The 14th Amendment of the Constitution confers citizenship on everyone born on American soil, with narrow exceptions for certain cases. The case under review comes from New Hampshire, where a federal judge blocked the citizenship order in a class-action lawsuit.
The administration argues that children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship. The administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, D. John Sauer, emphasized that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was meant to grant citizenship to newly freed slaves and their children, not to the children of aliens illegally or temporarily in the United States. Twenty-four Republican-led states and 27 Republican lawmakers are backing the administration in this legal battle.
