The US Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld former President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens born in the United States, a practice commonly known as birth tourism. The 6-3 decision, split along ideological lines, marks a significant shift in US immigration policy and could affect thousands of children born annually to foreign nationals.
What Happened
The ruling centered on the interpretation of the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, which grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." The Trump administration argued that children born to tourists or temporary visitors are not "subject to the jurisdiction" of the US and thus not entitled to automatic citizenship. The Supreme Court agreed, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing for the majority that the clause's original meaning did not extend to those whose presence was unauthorized or temporary.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, an estimated 33,000 children were born in the US to non-citizen mothers in 2024, many of whom were tourists visiting specifically to give birth. The ruling applies only to future births, not retroactively, and does not affect children born to permanent residents or US citizens.
Details of the Decision
The majority opinion, joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, argued that the 14th Amendment was intended to grant citizenship to freed slaves and their descendants, not to extend automatic citizenship to anyone born on US soil. "The historical record is clear," Roberts wrote. "The Citizenship Clause was designed to overturn the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision, not to create a global birthright citizenship regime."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for the dissent, called the ruling "a radical departure from over a century of precedent" and warned it could create a permanent underclass of stateless children. "The majority's interpretation rewrites the Constitution to exclude children who have no other country to call home," she said. The dissent was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Impact
The decision is expected to reduce the number of so-called "anchor babies" and curb the practice of birth tourism, where pregnant women travel to the US specifically to give birth and secure citizenship for their children. Critics argue the ruling will increase the number of undocumented immigrants and strain the asylum system, as children born to non-citizens will now lack a path to citizenship unless their parents legalize their status.
Immigration advocacy groups have vowed to challenge the ruling through legislation. "We will fight to restore birthright citizenship, which has been a cornerstone of American identity for 150 years," said Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. Meanwhile, supporters of the ban praised the court for closing a loophole they say was exploited by wealthy foreigners.
