Supreme Court Weighs Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Against 14th Amendment's 28 Words
Updated
Updated · The Atlantic · Jun 22
Supreme Court Weighs Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order Against 14th Amendment's 28 Words
3 articles · Updated · The Atlantic · Jun 22
Summary
The Supreme Court is preparing to rule on whether Trump’s January 2025 order can deny citizenship to U.S.-born babies whose parents lack legal status or are in the country temporarily.
The case turns on the Fourteenth Amendment’s 28-word citizenship clause, which has broadly guaranteed birthright citizenship since 1868 and was reinforced by the Court’s 1898 Wong Kim Ark decision.
States challenged the order within 24 hours, and the justices heard arguments in April on whether "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" can be read narrowly enough to exclude those children.
At argument, some questioning suggested skepticism toward rewriting long-settled precedent, while critics say ending birthright citizenship would force families to prove every newborn’s status and risk creating stateless children.
The ruling could redefine who qualifies as an American and test whether the Court will preserve or narrow a constitutional principle in place for more than 150 years.
How would redefining birthright citizenship reshape the American social contract and the daily lives of millions?
Which other constitutional rights could be challenged by a new interpretation of the 14th Amendment?
Birthright Citizenship on Trial: Supreme Court Decision Looms Over Executive Order 14160
Overview
The Supreme Court is set to decide whether Executive Order 14160, which aims to change birthright citizenship rules for children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents, is constitutional. Although lower courts have blocked the order after lawsuits from states and rights groups, no nationwide changes have taken effect yet. The case now directly asks the Supreme Court to interpret the Citizenship Clause of the Constitution. The outcome will have major consequences for millions of families and could redefine what it means to be an American citizen, making this decision one of the most significant in recent history.