The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on April 1 challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that seeks to deny citizenship to certain children born on U.S. soil. The case threatens to fundamentally reshape who qualifies as American and could affect an estimated 750,000 children born in the United States over the next two decades.
Constitutional Protections at Stake
Birthright citizenship stems from the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all children born on American soil regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Legal scholars argue this protection is as fundamental to American law as freedom of speech. Trump signed the executive order on his first day back in office, targeting children whose parents lack permanent legal status. Critics warn the order violates constitutional protections that have defined American citizenship for generations.
Immigrant Communities Face Uncertainty
The challenge comes amid widespread enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that have disrupted families in cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis. A January survey found half of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have felt the impact of recent immigration policies or know someone who has. Federal actions targeting students and visa holders have created confusion on college campuses and in workplaces nationwide. Anti-immigrant sentiment has fueled a rise in hate incidents affecting both citizens and immigrants.
Historical Context and Modern Impact
Birthright citizenship gained prominence after the 1898 Supreme Court case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which ruled that children born in America to Chinese immigrants qualified for citizenship. The decision opened doors for Asian American families after decades of discriminatory exclusion laws. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act later removed racist quotas that had blocked non-European immigration, leading to demographic changes that transformed American communities. Neighborhoods like Los Angeles’ Koreatown emerged as hubs where families from across the world built businesses and raised children who became American citizens from birth.
What Comes Next
If the Supreme Court allows Trump’s executive order to proceed, children born in the United States would lose access to education, public benefits, and basic rights tied to citizenship. Legal experts warn the decision could erode the political power of immigrant communities and undermine equal rights principles that have guided American law for over a century. The case represents a critical test of constitutional protections that have allowed generations of families to establish themselves in America.
So many flaws in the ‘thinking’ in this article. For one – IF ‘birthright Citizenship’ really was ‘granted’ by the 14th – WHY did it take over 30 years for scotus to rule that way in the Wong Kim Ark case? What was NOT mentioned in the article was if the parents in that case were here LEGALLY.
Birthright citizenship was never meant for illegals or people just visiting this country. This should have never been allowed to become law. I believe that there is now proof that countries, like China, now have programs to send women about to give childbirth to this country because the child will be granted birthright citizenship. What could possibly go wrong with that ?
The Citizenship test in the 14th amendment has two parts that must be valid. The first is: Being born here (simple to understand), the second is being subject to the jurisdiction thereof (not so easy to understand). By there being two parts that must be satisfied it should be clear that just being born here in not enough. This is very clear when one reads the transcripts of the discussion held in congress regarding the proposed 14th amendment and it discussions in the states during ratification.
A citizen of a foreign country who has NOT made a declaration to become a US Citizen who has no intent of becoming a US Citizen is NOT subject to the citizenship jurisdiction of the US, they are solely subject to the citizenship jurisdiction of their parent country and only have the citizenship of their parents. IF the parents have made a declaration of their intent to become a US Citizens OR are naturalized citizens then YES they ARE subject to the citizenship jurisdiction of the US. Certain individuals are automatically not subject to US citizenship jurisdiction, they are: diplomats of a foreign country, and foreign military in the US.
None of this is new, just because it is not popularly known does not change the facts, I was taught it in high school in the 1960s and college in the 70s.