07/03/2026
In a landmark 6–3 decision issued on June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that children born on U.S. soil to parents who are undocumented or only temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling in Trump v. Barbara strikes down President Trump’s 2025 executive order that sought to deny citizenship to certain U.S.-born children.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Barrett, and Jackson, declaring that the promise of citizenship “then and now” belongs to “every free-born person in this land,” and that the Court “keeps that promise today.” Justice Kavanaugh concurred in the judgment on statutory grounds, while Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented.
Bottom line:
• Executive Order 14160 is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced
• Birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause remains fully intact — regardless of a parent’s immigration status
• Changing this constitutional guarantee would require a formal constitutional amendment, not executive action
• The Court reaffirmed its 1898 precedent in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, rejecting the administration’s “domicile” theory of citizenship
Children born in the United States — no matter their parents’ immigration status — remain U.S. citizens at birth. Families need not take any action in response to the now-vacated executive order.
