Trump to Attend Supreme Court Arguments on Ending Birthright Citizenship
US President Donald Trump has announced plans to attend Supreme Court arguments on Wednesday as the nation’s highest court examines whether the United States should end its longstanding policy granting citizenship to anyone born on American soil.
The case centers on an executive order Trump signed on his first day back in office in January 2025, which seeks to end automatic birthright citizenship for babies born in the US to parents who are either in the country illegally or staying temporarily.
The move immediately sparked legal challenges from opponents who argue the order violates the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens.
Trump has defended the order as a necessary step to address immigration concerns, saying the policy change would help combat what his administration describes as significant threats to national security and public safety.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump confirmed he intends to attend the court session, saying he has followed the debate over birthright citizenship for years.
If he appears at the hearing, it would mark the first known time a sitting US president attends oral arguments at the Supreme Court, underscoring the importance Trump places on the case.
The executive order is a key part of the president’s second-term immigration agenda, which aims to overhaul policies governing citizenship, border security, and immigration enforcement.
Opponents quickly challenged the order in court, with more than a dozen US states and five pregnant women filing lawsuits arguing the policy is unconstitutional.
The 14th Amendment was adopted after the Civil War to guarantee citizenship rights, particularly for formerly enslaved people. Legal critics say the amendment clearly establishes that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, with only limited exceptions such as children born to foreign diplomats.
Federal judges in three states issued nationwide injunctions blocking the executive order while legal challenges proceed.
Although the Supreme Court is expected to deliver its final ruling later this summer, the case is already being closely watched as a major test of both Trump’s immigration agenda and the limits of presidential authority.
Legal experts have widely argued that a president cannot change constitutional citizenship rights through an executive order alone.
Last year, the Supreme Court addressed a related issue when it reviewed the authority of lower court judges to block presidential actions nationwide. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that lower courts have limited power to issue sweeping injunctions against federal policies.
Trump celebrated that ruling as a significant victory, though the justices said at the time they were not directly ruling on the legality of the birthright citizenship policy itself.
Now the court will confront that question directly in the case titled Trump v. Barbara, which was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocacy groups representing children who could be affected by the policy.
The legal challenge argues that the 14th Amendment’s phrase “subject to the jurisdiction” clearly includes individuals living in the United States regardless of immigration status, as they remain bound by US law.
The ACLU has described birthright citizenship as a fundamental principle of American identity and argued that the policy has been widely accepted in the country long before the amendment was formally adopted.
The Trump administration, however, interprets the phrase differently, arguing that jurisdiction implies a stronger legal connection to the United States and excludes children born to parents who are not permanent or lawful residents.
Trump has repeatedly criticized birthright citizenship, including in a post on his Truth Social platform earlier this week. In the message, he argued that the system allows foreigners to gain US citizenship for their children simply by giving birth in the country.
He also claimed the 14th Amendment was originally intended to guarantee citizenship primarily for the children of formerly enslaved people after the Civil War.
The Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling is expected to have far-reaching consequences for US immigration policy and could reshape the interpretation of constitutional citizenship rights for generations.