The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to take up a case that would decide the legality of President Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict birthright citizenship.
The fight is over the constitutionality of the order that Trump signed on his first day back in office, which declared that children born to undocumented parents or parents in the United States with temporary visas would not automatically be granted citizenship.
How the largely conservative court rules on the case could reshape how citizenship is understood and granted in the United States. Prior to this administration, birthright citizenship had long been considered a settled matter. A ruling by the Supreme Court is expected before the end of the court’s current term.
There have long been concerns about how, and if, the Supreme Court would block Trump’s efforts to expand his administration’s power.
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“If the birthright citizenship question had come before the Supreme Court 10 or 15 years ago, the answer would have been crystal clear how the court would rule,” Adam Winkler, a UCLA School of Law professor and constitutional law expert, told NOTUS in February. “However, I don’t think that we can take that for granted today.”
The order, which has not taken effect, was immediately challenged. Twenty-two states sued the Trump administration over the order, arguing that birthright citizenship is “automatic” under the 14th Amendment. The case has wound its way through the courts, with all lower court rulings striking down the order, and it now finds itself waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Court.
Birthright citizenship has long been determined using the 14th Amendment, which reads that “persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” The Trump administration’s order is aimed at redefining the longstanding interpretation that grants it broadly to children born in the country.
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