On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to allow Donald Trump to restrict birthright citizenship in the United States – one of the main directions of his immigration policy during his second term. Reuters reports, writes UNN.
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A lower court blocked his executive order, which prohibited federal agencies from recognizing the citizenship of children born on U.S. soil if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. This is also often referred to as the green card situation.
Tuesday will be the last day of hearings for the current court term, which began in the spring.
Challengers of the order argue that it violates the wording of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to those born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction.
Trump, who has repeatedly tested the limits of presidential power in domestic and foreign policy, issued the order on the first day of his new term as part of a package of policies aimed at reducing immigration. His critics accuse him of racial and religious discrimination.
The Supreme Court is considering what it means to be a U.S. citizen ahead of the July 4 celebration – the 250th anniversary of the nation's founding.
Before the decision, some experts believed that the directive could affect the legal status of approximately 250,000 infants annually and force families of millions of children to prove the citizenship status of their newborns.
Lawsuit filed by a group of plaintiffs
The legal challenge against this order – a class action lawsuit in New Hampshire from parents and children whose citizenship was threatened by the order – was considered by the Supreme Court in the context of preserving constitutional rights.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has long been understood as a guarantee of citizenship for those born in the country, with exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats or members of another armed force.
The norm under discussion, known as "Citizenship," states: "All 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 administration argues that the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction" means that birth in the U.S. alone does not confer citizenship, and excludes children of immigrants who are in the country illegally or have legal but temporary status, such as students or workers on visas.
Citizenship is granted only to children of those whose "primary allegiance" is to the United States, specifically citizens or permanent residents of the country, as the administration claims. This concept is defined through "legal residence," which, according to the administration's arguments, means lawful, permanent residence with the intent to remain.
During the hearings, Trump arrived at the Supreme Court building as the first sitting president to participate in hearings before the Supreme Court, although he left the chamber after the lawyer opposed the administration's legal representative.
"Birth tourism"
U.S. Attorney General John Sauer in court debates called the practice of foreigners coming to the U.S. to give birth for the purpose of obtaining citizenship "birth tourism." He stated that it involves "thousands" of such cases from potentially different countries, but acknowledged that there are no exact statistics, and estimates are based mainly on media reports.
The issue is being considered in the context of interpreting the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees birthright citizenship and was adopted in 1868 after the Civil War. Opponents of the administration cite the Supreme Court precedent in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), which affirmed this right, while the government side insists on a narrower interpretation of the norm.