Donald Trump has escalated his legal battle over birthright citizenship to the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking to reverse a series of judicial blocks on his controversial order that restricts automatic citizenship for children born in the country to non-citizen parents.
Trump’s order, signed on January 20—the day he returned to office—directed federal agencies to deny U.S. citizenship to babies born on American soil unless at least one parent is a citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The policy was set to take effect on February 19 but has been halted nationwide by multiple federal court rulings.
Now, Trump’s administration is urging the Supreme Court to narrow the impact of those injunctions, arguing that they should apply only to the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuits rather than blocking the order on a national scale. The Justice Department’s filing criticized the broad judicial blocks, stating, “Universal injunctions have reached epidemic proportions.”
Opponents, including 22 Democratic-led states, immigrant rights advocates, and pregnant women, argue that the order is unconstitutional. The legal challenge centers on the 14th Amendment, which has long been interpreted to guarantee citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of parental immigration status.
Trump’s administration contends that this interpretation has fueled illegal immigration and “birth tourism,” where non-citizens travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children receive American citizenship. However, legal precedent—most notably the 1898 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark—has consistently upheld birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens.
The legal showdown now moves to the Supreme Court, where a conservative-leaning majority, including three justices appointed during Trump’s first term, will weigh the case. The outcome could have far-reaching implications for immigration policy and constitutional law in the United States.
