US Top Court Rejects Trump’s Bid to End Birthright Citizenship

News Desk/Reuters

Washington: The US Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling that it violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to nearly every child born on American soil.

In a 6-3 decision, the nine-member court rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to deny automatic US citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said there was no legal or historical basis for the administration’s interpretation of the Constitution. He cited the landmark 1898 Supreme Court case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established the principle of birthright citizenship and has remained a cornerstone of US constitutional law for more than a century.

The Trump administration had argued that the 14th Amendment applies only to individuals whose parents owe permanent allegiance or have a legal connection to the United States.

However, the court rejected that argument, stating that both the constitutional text and longstanding judicial precedent clearly support automatic citizenship for children born on US soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

The ruling marks a significant setback for Trump’s hardline immigration agenda. Limiting birthright citizenship has been a key policy objective since the beginning of his second term, during which he signed a series of controversial executive orders targeting immigration.

The executive order instructed federal agencies to deny US passports, citizenship documents and other legal rights to children born in the country to undocumented immigrants or parents with temporary immigration status.

Legal experts said the decision effectively closes the door on changing birthright citizenship through executive action. Any future attempt to alter the policy would require either a constitutional amendment or legislation passed by Congress that complies with constitutional requirements.

Trump Criticizes Ruling

Reacting to the decision, President Trump described the ruling as “very sad for our country” in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.

He argued that Congress should immediately begin work on legislation to end birthright citizenship, insisting that such a change could be achieved through federal law rather than a lengthy constitutional amendment process.

“The right to birthright citizenship is expensive and unfair for our country,” Trump wrote, adding that Congress would have his “full and strong support” in pursuing legislative action.

Sarcastic Post About China

In a separate post on Truth Social, Trump appeared to vent his frustration over the ruling by sarcastically congratulating Chinese President Xi Jinping and China, writing, “Congratulations to President Xi Jinping and the great country of China on winning the birthright citizenship case. This is a great victory.”

The remarks were widely interpreted as criticism of the court’s decision rather than a literal reference to China.

The Supreme Court’s ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for US immigration policy, reaffirming the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship and limiting the ability of future administrations to alter it through executive orders alone.