- By Supratik Das
- Sat, 06 Dec 2025 02:35 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Trump Birthright Citizenship Case: The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear President Donald Trump’s appeal seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas. The move marks the most significant judicial test so far of Trump’s second-term immigration agenda and sets up a high-stakes constitutional battle that will unfold through the first half of 2026.
On Friday (Dec 5), the court said it would take up the administration’s challenge to multiple lower-court rulings that blocked Trump’s executive order, which was issued on January 20, the first day of his second term. That order seeks to end automatic citizenship for certain children born on US soil, arguing that their parents are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States under the 14th Amendment.
What Is Birthright Citizenship?
The principle comes from the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War. It states that anyone born in the United States and “subject to the jurisdiction” of the country is a US citizen. For more than 125 years, courts have read that to mean nearly all children born on American soil qualify, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. The Supreme Court’s 1898 ruling in Wong Kim Ark has been the backbone of that view.
Research from the Migration Policy Institute and Penn State’s Population Research Institute estimates that ending birthright citizenship could result in 255,000 babies born annually in the US without citizenship. The number of undocumented residents could rise by 2.7 million by 2045 and more than 5 million by 2075. Pew Research Center data shows that about 4.4 million US-born children live with at least one undocumented parent.
Mixed Reaction On Policy
Civil rights organisations praised the Supreme Court for taking up the case, saying the legal clarity it provides will be crucial. “No president can change the 14th Amendment’s fundamental promise of citizenship,” ACLU legal director Cecillia Wang said, noting that lower courts have repeatedly blocked the policy.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Twenty-four Republican-led states and 27 GOP lawmakers, including Senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, have urged the Supreme Court to uphold Trump’s position. They argue that the amendment’s “jurisdiction” clause was never intended to cover children of non-citizens.
The court, however, declined to take action on a related Ninth Circuit ruling supporting a nationwide injunction sought by Democratic-led states, which warned that differing enforcement across the country would trigger legal and administrative chaos.
