Why Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship over Trump challenge

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld birthright citizenship, blocking an executive order by President Donald Trump that declared children who are born in the U.S. by parents who either are undocumented or have Temporary Protected Status are not considered American citizens.

In a 6-3 vote, the court found Trump's executive order violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States except children of foreign diplomats.

"Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights - to freely participate in our political community," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. "The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to 'every free-born person in this land.' We keep that promise today."

A rejection of the concept of birthright citizenship would have had broad ramifications for Florida, which is home to many families with TPS and others who have migrated here from Caribbean and South American nations.

What is birthright citizenship?

Birthright citizenship is a legal principle that grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Only the children born to foreign diplomats are exempt from birthright citizenship.

The 14th Amendment, passed by Congress in 1866 and later ratified in 1868, overrode the Supreme Court's 1857 Dred Scott decision that declared enslaved and free Black people could not be citizens.

The amendment 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."

What did the Trump administration propose for birthright citizenship?

On his first day of his second term as president, Trump issued an executive order that children born in the U.S. who do not have at least one parent who either is an American citizen or a permanent resident are not considered U.S. citizens.

The Trump administration argued that birthright citizenship should not be granted to children with parents who are U.S. citizens because they may be loyal to foreign countries.

The Trump administration also claimed birthright citizenship has fueled "birth tourism," the practice of pregnant women coming to the U.S. to give birth so their children will be citizens. Trump's lawyers said "birth tourism" was a major threat to national security and an incentive for illegal immigration.

Under Trump's policy, over 255,000 children born in the U.S. every year would start life undocumented, according to the Migration Policy Institute, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. That's about 6% of all projected births.

Trump's 2025 order never went into effect because it was challenged through multiple lawsuits filed by expectant parents, immigrant rights groups and the attorneys general of 22 states.

What did the U.S. Supreme Court rule on birthright citizenship?

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 order, that found Trump's executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship "cannot be reconciled with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution," which confers citizenship on anyone "born … in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof," according to the order.

Roberts wrote an order for the majority that stated "children born of parents unlawfully or temporarily present in the United States satisfy both elements of the Citizenship Clause," according to the order. "Under the Constitution they are citizens at birth."

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Samuel Alito called the ruling "a serious mistake." Alito said the 14th Amendment confirms citizenship only to those children who, at birth, owe allegiance solely to this country."

Solicitor General John Sauer argued the "new world" required a review of birthright citizenship. Roberts responded that such concerns "have no impact on the legal analysis before us."

"It's a new world," Roberts said. "It's the same Constitution."

Valentina Palm covers immigration and West Palm Beach for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Why Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship over Trump challenge

Reporting by Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post

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This story was originally published June 30, 2026 at 12:53 PM.