US Supreme Court rules that birthright citizenship remains in effect. Trump tried to abolish it
The US Supreme Court has confirmed that birthright citizenship continues to apply in full. This means that any person born on US territory automatically receives American citizenship, regardless of the citizenship of their parents, writes the BBC.
The attempt to change this rule belonged to Donald Trump. In January 2025, immediately after taking office, he signed an executive order limiting the principle of *ius soli* (citizenship by territory of birth). According to this document, children of undocumented immigrants, as well as some children of foreigners temporarily in the country, would not automatically receive US citizenship.
Following this, several states and cities governed by Democrats filed lawsuits. They argued that the executive order violated the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, adopted after the Civil War. This amendment states that all persons born in the US and "subject to its jurisdiction" are citizens of the country.
Initially, lower federal courts tried to block Trump's executive order and suspend its effect. However, the cases were later combined and reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The court made its final decision on Tuesday: the majority of judges (six against three) sided with the existing constitutional principle and struck down Trump's executive order. The judges noted that the text of the 14th Amendment leaves no room for another interpretation: if a person is born in the US and falls under its jurisdiction, they have the right to citizenship.
The Trump administration's position was that undocumented immigrants should not be considered persons "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US. But this interpretation was rejected by the majority of judges as unconvincing.
As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, it became clear that changing this principle by a regular presidential executive order is impossible. The only real way is to amend the US Constitution, which requires a very complex procedure and broad political consensus.
For Trump, this case was of particular importance; he even attended the court hearings. After the review, he criticized some judges, including those he had once appointed, when they did not support his position.
In addition to the citizenship case, during the same period, the Supreme Court also upheld state decisions allowing transgender women to be banned from participating in women's sports competitions.
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