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The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s bid to restrict birthright citizenship, preserving the long-standing constitutional interpretation that most children born in the United States are automatically U.S. citizens, including children born to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country.
The ruling is a major setback for Trump, who made curbing birthright citizenship a key part of his immigration agenda.
“Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause,” the court said.
“The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to ‘every free-born person in this land.’ We keep that promise today.”
Demonstrators holding opposing views verbally engage ahead of President Donald Trump’s arrival at the U.S. Supreme Court, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (Tom Brenner/AP Photo )
The Supreme Court decision was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority. The court found that a person’s citizenship status is not dependent on their parents’, citing the 14th Amendment. Roberts wrote that the Court’s 1898 precedent in Wong Kim Ark had settled the issue.
Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office that would eliminate birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or are in the country temporarily.
Multiple lawsuits followed the executive order. After the Supreme Court curtailed the use of nationwide injunctions, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a nationwide class-action lawsuit on behalf of families affected by the policy. The suit, led by a Honduran woman identified only as “Barbara” to protect her identity, challenged the order as unconstitutional and argued it violated the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.
