By Cameryn Bentler
On Wednesday, April 1, 2026, the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding challenges to President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants born on U.S. soil.
The question presented to the court is whether the executive order complies on its face with the Citizenship Clause and with 8 U.S.C. 1401(a), which codifies that clause, according to Supreme Court record. Court justices are skeptical of the presidential administration’s arguments to limit birthright citizenship – considering it to be in direct violation of the 14th Amendment.
Lawyers of the Trump administration argued that the 14th Amendment was made to grant citizenship to “confer citizenship on the newly freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens who are temporarily present in the United States or of illegal aliens,” as stated by the Supreme Court record.
General D. John Sauer, Trump’s top litigator for the case, argued a new assessment on the constitution regarding birthright citizenship. “We’re in a new world now,” Sauer said. Eight billion people “are one plane ride away from having a child who’s a US citizen.”
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. spoke out in response to Sauer’s statement: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution.”
Trump himself sat in the hearings – becoming the first sitting president to be in attendance for oral hearings at the Supreme Court. The New York Times reported that after spending about 90 minutes in the courtroom, he left abruptly during the ACLU’s (the American Civil Liberties Union) argument in favor of upholding the 14th Amendment and birthright citizenship. After returning to the White House, Trump took to stating, falsely, that the United States is the only country to allow birthright citizenship.
“We’re the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” President Donald Trump stated in a Truth Social post.
Thirty-two other countries around the globe have birthright citizenship laws similar to the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Another 50 or so countries have more limited variations of birthright citizenship.
President Trump’s administration argued that the eradication of birthright citizenship will not apply to already existing children and adults considered citizens of the United States under the 14th Amendment. However, Supreme Court justices and other experts, such as Senior U.S. District Judge John Coughenour of Seattle, fear that Trump’s “blatantly unconstitutional” plans may lead to implications concerning the rights of immigrants and first-generation children. Other judges followed Coughenour in blocking the Trump administration from enforcing the order.
This case presented to higher court suggested egregious consequences if the ruling concludes in President Trump’s favor. Although the Trump administration has said that the executive order would only affect babies born in the future, opponents say this decision could cast doubt over the status of millions of people who have already benefited from birthright citizenship and possibly create a greater xenophobic American society and culture.
A decision to overturn the 14th Amendment could also add fire to Trump’s “solution”. Repealing birthright citizenship for U.S. children born to unauthorized immigrants would have a contrary result of “reducing unauthorized immigration.” Studies from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) and Penn State’s Population Research Institute show that repeal would significantly swell the size of the unauthorized populations —now and for generations to come.
Serious consequences may come from repeal of birthright citizenship. However, Supreme Court majority shows inclination to rule against Trump on birthright citizenship. Reports from NPR claimed that “A majority of the Supreme Court justices seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s argument on birthright citizenship Wednesday [April 1, 2026] and appeared ready to rule in favor of upholding automatic citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil. That included multiple conservative justices.”
A decision in the case is expected this summer, likely in late June or early July. Opponents of the administration’s case, such as ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero, have expressed confidence that the Court will rule in their favor.
“We are fighting for the heart and soul of this country. The fight to protect birthright citizenship is about our neighbors, our families, our kids. It’s not about the past, it’s about the future,” Romero told the crowd outside. “We will only accept what is just and what is right.”
