The Trump administration has petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the enforcement of an executive order that challenges the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship. This principle, enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, guarantees citizenship to virtually anyone born in the United States. An executive order, signed by President Donald Trump, aims to limit this right for children born to parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily.
The executive order was met with immediate legal challenges, resulting in preliminary injunctions issued by federal district judges in Seattle, Maryland, and Massachusetts. These injunctions effectively bar the government from implementing the order nationwide. The Trump administration argues that these nationwide injunctions overstep constitutional boundaries and hinder the Executive Branch’s ability to execute its duties.
Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris submitted three nearly identical filings to the Supreme Court, urging the justices to limit the injunctions to only the individual plaintiffs and specific groups involved in the lawsuits. Harris also suggested that the federal government should be allowed to take internal steps to prepare for the order’s implementation while the legal proceedings continue, even if enforcement is temporarily blocked.
Harris contended that the states challenging the executive order lack standing to bring their lawsuits, as they cannot assert citizenship rights on behalf of individuals and are not directly harmed by the order.The administration’s request aligns with recent criticisms by several Supreme Court justices, including Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh, who have questioned the legality of nationwide injunctions.
The issue of birthright citizenship is deeply rooted in the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, which states that all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens. The U.S. is among about 30 countries that offer automatic citizenship to those born within their borders.
The first sentence of the 14th Amendment’s Section 1 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.”
This clause, known as the Citizenship Clause, has been the bedrock of birthright citizenship in the United States for over 150 years. It was originally passed to overturn the infamous Dred Scott decision, which had denied citizenship to African Americans.
The Supreme Court has consistently upheld a broad interpretation of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship provision. In the landmark 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Court ruled that a child born in the United States to Chinese immigrant parents was indeed a U.S. citizen, regardless of the parents’ citizenship status.
