US Supreme Court rejects Trump bid to restrict birthright citizenship

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump's bid to restrict birthright citizenship. The court ruled 6-3 on the final day of its term to maintain the right to American citizenship for nearly everyone born on U.S. soil.

What did the Supreme Court rule on birthright citizenship?

The Supreme Court ruled that children born in the United States to parents who are undocumented or on temporary visas remain U.S. citizens at birth. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion. He said such children are "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States under the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause.

Trump signed an executive order last year, on his first day back in the White House, declaring that children born to undocumented or temporary-visa parents would not automatically become citizens. Lower courts blocked the order, ruling that the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause covers nearly everyone born on U.S. soil. The Supreme Court agreed with those lower courts in its ruling.

Why did Trump want to end birthright citizenship?

Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship formed part of his broader campaign to restrict immigration, including plans to expel millions of undocumented migrants. In an unprecedented move for a sitting president, Trump personally attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court in April. He stayed for the presentation by his solicitor general, John Sauer, but left before ACLU attorney Cecillia Wang argued in defense of birthright citizenship.

During those arguments, Sauer claimed that unrestricted birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and "birth tourism," where foreigners travel to the U.S. solely to give birth. The Trump administration argued that the 14th Amendment, passed after the Civil War, was meant to address the citizenship of former slaves rather than the children of undocumented migrants or visitors.

Is a child born in America automatically a citizen?

The 14th Amendment states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens. This does not apply to people not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, such as the children of foreign diplomats. Trump's executive order had argued that undocumented or visa-holding parents were not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the country, and that their children should therefore be excluded from automatic citizenship.

The Supreme Court rejected a similarly narrow definition of citizenship in a landmark 1898 case involving Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco in 1873 to Chinese parents. After travelling to China, Wong Kim Ark was denied reentry into the United States in 1895 under the Chinese Exclusion Acts. The Supreme Court ruled that he remained a U.S. citizen by virtue of his birth on American soil.

What other legal setbacks has Trump faced this term?

Tuesday's ruling marks the third major Supreme Court loss for Trump this term. The justices struck down most of his global tariffs in February. On Monday, the court also blocked his bid to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.