On June 30, 2026, the United States Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision invalidating former President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship. The order would have limited citizenship to children born in the U.S. only if at least one parent was a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, excluding children born to temporary visitors, visa holders, or undocumented immigrants.

Five of the six justices who found the order unlawful ruled it violated the 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh, nominated by Trump, agreed the order violated the law but not the Constitution.

Trump responded on his Truth Social platform, stating, “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process. No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship.”

Trump and some congressional allies expressed intent to pursue legislation mirroring the provisions of the defeated order, though the current Congressional makeup suggests such efforts face significant obstacles.

In April, Trump became the first sitting president to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court regarding this case.

Meanwhile, Democratic representatives Adriano Espaillat, Yvette Clarke, and Grace Meng, chairs of the Congressional Hispanic, Black, and Asian Pacific American caucuses, issued a joint statement affirming their commitment to defending birthright citizenship for future generations. They emphasized that citizenship by birthright is a constitutional promise that should never be in doubt.

Trump also referenced other legal victories and criticized Rebecca Slaughter, a Federal Trade Commission member he had fired, who was central to the case. He claimed the Republican Party was treated fairly by the Supreme Court despite the birthright citizenship ruling.

Sources