Trump Asks Supreme Court to Rule on Ending Birthright Citizenship

27 September 2025

People gather outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., June 29, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt

President Donald Trump’s administration filed a bold appeal on September 26 asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review and overturn lower court rulings that blocked his executive order meant to restrict automatic citizenship for children born in the United States.

On his first day back in office in January, Trump signed an executive order aiming to deny citizenship to the U.S.-born children of parents who are neither citizens nor lawful permanent residents. That policy has been universally met with legal challenges on grounds that it conflicts with the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause, which ensures that “all persons born in the United States are citizens of the United States.”

Lower courts have struck down the policy through nationwide injunctions, holding that Trump’s order is unconstitutional. The administration’s latest move asks the Supreme Court to bypass the usual appeals process and take the case directly, requesting immediate intervention in the upcoming term.

The Justice Department’s appeal argues that the lower courts effectively conferred citizenship “without lawful justification” on individuals who do not qualify under the new policy, and contends that this decision undermines border security. The appeals involve two separate cases: one filed by several states and another by a group of individuals in New Hampshire.

At the heart of the dispute is the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 in the aftermath of the Civil War. Its citizenship provision is foundational in U.S. jurisprudence. While the administration argues that the clause was never intended to cover children of undocumented or temporary-status parents, many legal scholars and courts have interpreted it broadly to protect nearly all U.S.-born children.

The Supreme Court has already weighed in on a related matter. In June 2025 it issued a 6-3 ruling limiting the power of lower courts to issue universal injunctions orders that block policies nationwide even when multiple districts challenge them. That decision gave the Trump administration room to argue that the prior blocks against its citizenship policy were excessive.

However, the Supreme Court did not rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship policy itself. The case now hinges on whether the high court will finally address that foundational constitutional question: whether the executive branch has the authority to redefine citizenship without amendment or legislation.

Should the Court agree to hear the case and possibly issue a decision in 2026 the ruling could reshape the legal landscape around birthright citizenship, immigration policy, and executive power.