The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that will determine whether some children born in the United States have a constitutional right to citizenship, months after lower courts blocked President Donald Trump's order to end birthright citizenship for children of parents in the country illegally. Trump signed the order on his first day in office in January, seeking to deny citizenship to children born to people in the US illegally or on temporary visas. No date has been set for the Supreme Court arguments, and a ruling is likely months away. The case could reshape Trump's immigration crackdown and redefine the meaning of American citizenship. For nearly 160 years, the 14th Amendment has guaranteed citizenship to anyone born on US soil, except the children of diplomats and foreign military forces. The amendment states: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States." The administration argues that "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" excludes children of people not lawfully or permanently in the US. Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union and counsel for the plaintiffs, said no president can alter the amendment's core guarantee. "For over 150 years, it has been the law and our national tradition that everyone born on U.S. soil is a citizen from birth," she said. Legal challenges quickly halted Trump's order, with several federal judges ruling it unconstitutional and two federal circuit courts upholding injunctions blocking it. Trump then appealed to the Supreme Court. In June, the court ruled the injunctions exceeded lower courts' authority but did not address birthright citizenship itself. The amendment was passed after the US Civil War to affirm citizenship for freed, American-born former slaves. US Solicitor General D. John Sauer said it was intended to cover newly freed slaves and their children, not the children of "aliens temporarily visiting the United States or of illegal aliens," arguing that a broad interpretation has had "destructive consequences." The US is one of roughly 30 countries, mostly in the Americas, that grant automatic citizenship to anyone born within their borders. Pew Research Center data shows that about 250,000 babies were born to unauthorized immigrant parents in 2016, a 36% drop from 2007. By 2022, 1.2 million US citizens had been born to unauthorized immigrant parents. A study published in May by the Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University suggested repealing birthright citizenship could increase the unauthorized population by 2.7 million by 2045 and 5.4 million by 2075. — Agencies
