- Mariam Taofeek-Bakare | Premier World News
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down President Donald Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, preserving the right to American citizenship for nearly everyone born on US soil.
In a 6-3 ruling delivered on the final day of its term, the court upheld the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, stating:
“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”.
Trump signed the executive order on the first day of his second term last year.
It sought to deny automatic citizenship to children born to parents in the US illegally or on temporary visas.
Lower courts blocked the policy, citing the 14th Amendment and the Supreme Court agreed.
During April’s oral arguments, Trump made the rare move of attending in person.
He listened to Solicitor General John Sauer’s presentation but left before ACLU attorney Cecillia Wang argued to defend birthright citizenship.
Sauer had argued that automatic citizenship fuels illegal immigration and “birth tourism”.
The administration claimed the 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, was meant for former slaves, not the children of undocumented migrants or visa holders.
The court rejected that narrow reading, citing the 1898 _Wong Kim Ark_ case.
In that ruling, the justices held that a man born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a US citizen because he was born on American soil.
The decision marks Trump’s third major defeat at the court this term.
In February the justices struck down most of his global tariffs and on Monday they blocked his effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
