The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the Trump administration’s executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship for children born in the United States. On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented parents and parents present in nonimmigrant (temporary) status. To confer citizenship, the administration would have required at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident.

In striking down the executive order today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that attempting to limit U.S. citizenship for children born in the United States violates the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which confers U.S. citizenship on anyone born in the U.S. and subject to its jurisdiction. The court affirmed that children born to parents who are in the United States unlawfully or temporarily meet the requirements of the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Robert’s concluded: “Under the Constitution, they are citizens at birth.”

Although Trump’s executive order was slated to take effect 30 days after its January 2025 publication, the order was almost immediately enjoined by several federal courts across the country, and the administration was prohibited from implementing the order while the lower federal courts considered the legal merits. Hoping to expedite implementation, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court in September 2025. The Supreme Court’s ruling today is definitive; the order ending birthright citizenship cannot be implemented.

The case is Trump, et al. v. Barbara, et al., (No. 25-365), 609 U.S.___ (2026).