Washington, United States. The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling against a key immigration measure of his administration. The 6-3 decision upheld a lower court order blocking Trump’s executive action.
Court blocks executive order
The justices upheld a lower court’s decision that blocked Trump’s executive order directing U.S. agencies not to recognize the citizenship of children born in the United States if neither parent is an American citizen or legal permanent resident, also known as a green card holder.
Challenge based on the Constitution
Challengers argued that the order violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which grants citizenship to people born in the United States who are “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
Second major setback this year
The ruling marked the second time this year that the Supreme Court invalidated a major Trump initiative, following its February decision striking down his sweeping global tariffs.
Reference to 1898 precedent
The challengers said the issue had already been settled by the Supreme Court in the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that the 14th Amendment grants citizenship by birth on U.S. soil, including to the children of foreign nationals.
Roberts cites long-standing interpretation
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, referred to the 1898 ruling in the decision.
“Not surprisingly, then, in the 128 years since, we have repeatedly understood the rule of Wong Kim Ark to guarantee citizenship to all children born in the United States and subject to its power,” Roberts wrote. “We see no reason to depart from that view today.”
Court rejects administration’s argument
Roberts wrote that there was “scant evidence” to support the Trump administration’s “dramatically revisionist view” of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship language.
“If Congress intended to limit American citizenship to the children of those domiciled in the United States, nothing in the succinct language of the Citizenship Clause conveyed that design,” Roberts wrote.
Order issued as part of immigration crackdown
Trump issued the order last year on his first day back in office as part of a broader set of policies targeting legal and illegal immigration. The Republican president has repeatedly tested the limits of presidential power in domestic and foreign policy. Critics have accused him of racial and religious discrimination in his approach to immigration.
