The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed<\/a> to take up a major case that could reshape one of the country\u2019s oldest citizenship principles: birthright citizenship.<\/strong> The decision comes months after President Donald Trump<\/a> signed an executive order on his first day back in office seeking to end the automatic citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally.<\/em> <\/strong>That order was quickly put on hold by several lower courts, and now the nation\u2019s highest court will have the final say.<\/p>\n However, no official date has been scheduled yet for oral arguments, and a ruling is likely many months away. Still, the case carries enormous weight. Whatever the Supreme Court decides will directly impact the Trump administration\u2019s immigration policies and could possibly redefine who qualifies as an American citizen.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The announcement came the same day President Trump attended the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw on December 5<\/strong>. The Supreme Court confirmed it would review a lower court\u2019s decision that rejected Trump\u2019s claim that children born to parents who are in the U.S. illegally or temporarily\u2014are not automatically entitled to U.S. citizenship.<\/a><\/p>\n Throughout his campaign and presidency, Trump has argued that the 14th Amendment was intended only for those \u201cborn in and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States<\/em>,\u201d a phrase he believes excludes certain groups such as undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders.<\/a><\/p>\n For more than a century and a half, however, the 14th Amendment has been widely interpreted to guarantee citizenship to nearly every child born on American soil.<\/a> Exceptions apply only to children of foreign diplomats or enemy military forces.<\/p>\n The amendment\u2019s text reads: Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> seeks to narrow this definition significantly. It is part of his broader effort to reshape the U.S. immigration system and address what his administration has described as \u201cserious national security and public safety concerns<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Civil liberties organizations strongly oppose the policy. Following the Supreme Court\u2019s announcement, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)<\/strong> issued a sharp response, saying the administration is attempting to undo a core constitutional guarantee.<\/p>\n \u201cNo president can change the 14th Amendment\u2019s fundamental promise of citizenship<\/em>,\u201d said Cecillia Wang, the ACLU\u2019s national legal director.\u00a0The United States is one of about 30 countries worldwide<\/strong><\/em>, mostly in the Americas, that offer automatic citizenship to anyone born within national borders.<\/p>\n After Trump<\/a> signed the order, multiple federal judges blocked it, ruling that it violated the Constitution. Two federal appeals courts also upheld the legal document preventing the order from taking effect. In June 2025, however, the Supreme Court ruled that those injunctions may have gone too far – although the court did not address the birthright citizenship issue itself.<\/p>\n That paved the way for President Trump to appeal again.<\/p>\n The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution was carried out in 1868, shortly after the American Civil War, to settle the citizenship status of formerly enslaved people. Since then, the birthright citizenship has applied to babies born to citizens, legal immigrants,<\/a> and undocumented immigrants alike.<\/p>\n According to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute<\/strong> and Penn State\u2019s Population Research Institute<\/strong>, ending birthright citizenship could lead to:<\/p>\nSupreme Court to Review Lower Court Ruling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u201cAll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nCivil Rights Groups Push Back<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Understanding Birthright Citizenship<\/strong><\/h3>\n