The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this Tuesday (June 30, 2026) that birthright citizenship applies to all persons born in the country, even if their parents are present illegally or temporarily, as it is a right enshrined in the Constitution. In doing so, the Court deemed illegal the executive order signed by President Donald Trump to limit said right.

The ruling recognizes that "children born in the United States to parents present illegally or temporarily are 'subject to the jurisdiction thereof'" and therefore "are citizens from birth under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." The decision was adopted by five votes in favor and four against among the justices composing the Court.

Thus, it maintains an interpretation of the Constitution that for over 150 years has considered almost any person — with exceptions such as children of diplomatic officials — born within the nation to be American.

The ruling was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who stated that "citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community. The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land.' We keep that promise today."

Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented in part, not sharing the maximalist conception of the Citizenship Clause while also not endorsing Trump's decree that would de facto eliminate birthright citizenship. Three other conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch, and Samuel A. Alito Jr. — dissented from the majority's vote by not recognizing "fully" automatic birthright citizenship.

Trump had promised in his campaign to limit automatic citizenship for children of irregular migrants, a measure he signed on the same day he assumed his second term on January 20, 2025, inaugurating a period of restrictive anti-immigration policies. That order, which would affect approximately 255,000 children per year, was nullified by the Supreme Court's decision.

The U.S. president maintains that the Fourteenth Amendment has been misinterpreted and that the U.S. is the only country that grants citizenship rights automatically — a false argument, since about 30 countries worldwide also recognize that right.