The US Supreme Court has handed President Donald Trump a monumental defeat, delivering a historic 6-3 verdict that firmly upholds birthright citizenship and strikes down his executive bid to dismantle the 150-year-old policy.
Chief Justice John Roberts, authoring the majority opinion, explicitly ruled that children born in the US “to parents unlawfully or temporarily present” are unconditionally “citizens at birth” under the 14th Amendment.
While five of the majority justices agreed that the administration’s executive order directly violated the Constitution, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that the directive breached federal law. Reaffirming the enduring nature of the post-Civil War amendment, Chief Justice Roberts stated: “We keep that promise today.”
The ruling fundamentally shatters a core pillar of the administration’s hardline immigration agenda. The Trump administration had rigorously argued that the constitutional phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” did not apply to children of non-permanent residents.
Reacting sharply on Truth Social, President Trump branded the judicial outcome “too bad” and vowed to pivot his campaign to Capitol Hill, urging Congress to immediately initiate legislation to end the policy.
Echoing the intense disapproval, the three dissenting conservative justices – Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Samuel Alito- issued a sharp rebuke, with Justice Alito terming the decision a “serious mistake” that invites birth tourism.
In contrast, the verdict triggered widespread celebration among civil rights groups and opposition lawmakers. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries lauded the decision for finally affirming that birth on American soil guarantees citizenship noting, “There is, and shall be, no question.”
