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The Supreme Court of the United States has accepted the idea of citizenship rightsa long established right that guarantees citizenship to almost all children born in the country.
The court’s decision on Tuesday appears to be a blow to President Donald Trump, himself he wanted to roll over Citizenship by birth through the law of the authorities.
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But in Tuesday’s ruling, a majority of the court ruled that Trump’s actions violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.
The law grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”, except children of foreign diplomats.
“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to freedom – to participate freely in our political institutions.” The founders of the 14th Amendment extended this promise to ‘everyone born free in this country,'” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority decision. “We uphold that promise today.”
What is it citizenship rightsWhat did the court say about its decision, and what can Trump do? We look at those questions and more in this overview.
What are birthrights?
Birthright citizenship is the idea of granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States, with few exceptions. Children of foreign diplomats are not included.
This concept was established in the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which was added after the US Civil War.
It was written to ensure that blacks, including former slaves, would receive the same protections afforded to citizens.
Several Supreme Court cases have recognized this right. One of the major precedents was set in the 1898 case called United States vs. Wong Kim Ark.
The story involved a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents. After one trip to visit family in China, he was denied re-entry into the US, because he was not a citizen. The Supreme Court, however, held that Wong was indeed a US citizen, and his travels did not disprove that fact.
What is the difference between a free citizen and a natural born citizen?
Every person born in the US receives their citizenship through citizenship rights.
A natural born citizen is a person who is not a citizen of that country, but has acquired citizenship through the legal process available.
When a person becomes a permanent citizen, they have the same and full rights as US citizens.
The 14th Amendment protects the rights of natural-born citizens and natural-born citizens, prohibiting the government from attempting to “limit the privileges or immunities” of any individual.
What does the 14th Amendment say about this?
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution has five parts. The first section, however, deals with citizenship:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to its jurisdiction, are citizens of the United States and of the State in which they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without a law corresponding to the law of any person.”
What led to the Supreme Court case?
In his second campaign for the 2024 presidential election, Trump, a Republican, promised to end citizenship rights.
In 2023, for example, he wrote video audio on television he says that natural born citizenship helps “immigrants” enter the US.
“It’s things like this that bring millions of people into our country,” Trump said. “My comments will end a major incentive to continue immigration, stop more immigrants from coming and encourage more immigrants that Joe Biden has allowed into our country to return to their countries.”
Immigration restrictions were a major pillar of Trump’s second term, and on his first day back in office – January 20, 2025 – he signed a document. Executive Order which prevented some children from receiving their birthright.
They included babies born to undocumented immigrants, and those whose parents were not permanent citizens at the time of their birth, even if they were in the country legally.
However, the plaintiffs challenged the law in court immediately, saying it would make some babies out of control.
The main law has not been implemented, the lower courts are blocking its implementation.
What does the United States Supreme Court decision say?
In a six to three decision, a Supreme Court violated the 2025 executive order in a case called Trump v Barbara.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative who was appointed by former President George W Bush, delivered the landmark ruling.
He added that the 14th Amendment does not support Trump’s proposal to limit citizenship rights to the children of existing citizens or permanent residents.
Roberts wrote: “If Congress intended to deny citizenship to children of American citizens residing in the United States, nothing in the language of the Citizenship Clause would suggest this.
He referred to the 1898 case of Wong Kim Ark and set a precedent that continues to this day.
“In the 128 years since then, we have repeatedly understood Wong Kim Ark’s law to guarantee citizenship to all children born in the United States and based on its power,” Roberts said. “We see no reason to abandon that view today.”
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett and three left-leaning members of the court — Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Elena Kagan — joined Roberts in his opinion.
But one of the six justices who made up the majority disagreed with Roberts’ arguments: Brett Kavanaugh.
He argued that it was not the 14th Amendment that guaranteed citizenship, but the US Constitution.
Kavanaugh agreed with all the results of the case – but left open the possibility that Congress could change the federal law to exclude temporary or illegal children, as Trump tried during his administration.
Who among the Supreme Court opposed?
The three justices who dissented from Tuesday’s ruling: Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Samuel Alito.
In a 91-page rebuttal, Thomas said Trump’s restrictions were legal.
Thomas wrote: “Today the court has done a very strange thing to reject the President’s Order without following the constitution of the country.”
Thomas argued that the court had departed from the original purpose of the 14th Amendment, which was to ensure the rights of freed blacks after slavery ended.
How would Trump respond?
Trump said he would look for a way forward despite the court’s recent ruling, saying Congress could deal with the problem without changing the US constitution, a difficult and lengthy process.
“The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is very bad for our Country, but we can pass it through Congress through legislation, with the support of the President,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
“There is no time and no need for a Constitutional Amendment! Congress must begin TODAY to work to end the costly and unjust laws against our country, our Birthright Citizenship. They have my Full Support!”
Legal experts, however, have said that changing the meaning of the 14th Amendment would require an amendment to the Constitution.
What else did the Supreme Court decide?
Tuesday is the last day of the 2025-2026 Supreme Court session. In most cases, it takes a break from the debate and offers big decisions until October.
Many of his most important decisions come on the last day of the season. On Tuesday, for example, the Supreme Court issued another ruling that upheld the government’s ban transgender girls participation in girls’ sports teams in public schools.
The highest court in the country too he struck Limiting the amount of money that political parties can spend on supporting candidates, and repealing laws limiting the power of money in US politics.
