by Ann Brown
December 6, 2025
The government contends that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment was intended to grant citizenship to freed slaves and their descendants, not to children of illegal immigrants or temporary visitors.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether President Donald Trump can legally restrict birthright citizenship, taking up a contentious issue that could reshape American immigration law. The justices announced on Dec. 5 that they will hear arguments, most likely in April, with a decision expected by the end of June.
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office in January, declaring that children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants or foreigners on temporary visas would no longer automatically receive citizenship. The administration framed the policy as a measure to curb illegal immigration and “birth tourism,” in which pregnant women travel to the U.S. to secure U.S. citizenship for their children, Politico reports.
The policy, however, was blocked almost immediately by lower courts. Federal judges ruled that the order conflicts with the Constitution’s 14th Amendment and longstanding legal precedent, including the 1898 Supreme Court case “United States v. Wong Kim Ark,” which guarantees citizenship to nearly all individuals born on U.S. soil. Critics argue that no president has the authority to redefine who a citizen is and warn that the policy could create legal chaos, since state and local authorities issue birth certificates without recording parents’ immigration status.
After facing early legal roadblocks, the Trump administration first asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on lower courts’ use of nationwide injunctions, which had blocked the policy nationwide. In June, the Court limited judges’ ability to issue such sweeping orders but didn’t decide on the main issue of birthright citizenship. In September, the administration went back to the high court, this time asking justices to rule directly on whether the executive order itself is constitutional, Reuters reports.
The government contends that the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War, was intended to grant citizenship to freed slaves and their descendants, not to the children of illegal immigrants or temporary visitors. Lawyers for the states challenging the order, along with immigrant rights groups, claim the policy could undermine equal treatment under the law and overturn over 100 years of established practice, according to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture.
The case stems from a class-action lawsuit challenging Trump’s order, with lower courts ruling in favor of the plaintiffs and stopping the policy from taking effect nationwide. The Supreme Court’s decision will be crucial, as it could settle the legal question once and for all and impact the lives of thousands of children born in the U.S.
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