What ending birthright citizenship could mean for millions of Americans

By Sirisha Dinavahi

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    4/22/25 (LAPost.com) — The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on May 15 on whether to allow President Donald Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants and certain foreign residents.

The case arises from a challenge to a presidential executive order issued on Trump’s first day in office. The order seeks to reinterpret the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Since its ratification in 1868, the Amendment has formed the foundation for birthright citizenship in the U.S.

Federal courts in Massachusetts, Maryland, and Washington responded swiftly to the order with nationwide injunctions, halting enforcement while legal challenges proceed. The Supreme Court is not yet reviewing the constitutionality of the order itself, but rather, it is examining whether lower courts overstepped by issuing injunctions that apply nationwide.

According to a brief order from the justices, oral arguments will focus on the scope of judicial authority in issuing such broad injunctions. The unsigned decision signaled the High Court’s recognition of the case’s significance without commenting on the substance of the legal challenges.

While the Supreme Court has not directly weighed in on the constitutionality of revoking birthright citizenship, legal scholars warn that if upheld, the Trump administration’s policy could reverse more than a century of precedent. In United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), the Supreme Court ruled that children born in the U.S. to foreign parents are entitled to citizenship under the 14th Amendment.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, one of several state officials challenging the executive order, called the move “blatantly unconstitutional” in a statement following the Court’s announcement.

“Birthright citizenship was enshrined in the Constitution in the wake of the Civil War, is backed by a long line of Supreme Court precedent, and ensures that something as fundamental as American citizenship cannot be turned on or off at the whims of a single man,” Platkin said.

If the policy is ultimately upheld, experts say millions of people born in the U.S. could face uncertainty regarding their citizenship status. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates approximately 250,000 children are born annually to undocumented immigrant parents in the U.S.

Advocacy groups have warned of possible consequences, including legal limbo for U.S.-born individuals, increased statelessness, and potential constitutional crises over how citizenship is defined.

“Doing this – revoking citizenship from a large class of individuals and creating this self-perpetuating class of immigrants in which their children, grandchildren, etc., don’t have citizenship – it would be damaging not only to that population but to the U.S. as a whole,” Sarah Pierce, a policy analyst with the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, said.

The Trump administration, however, argues the 14th Amendment does not extend citizenship to children of those who are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction, such as undocumented immigrants. Solicitor General D. John Sauer stated in a legal brief that nationwide injunctions have interfered with presidential authority and called on the justices to restore a proper balance of power between the branches of government.

“This court’s intervention is urgently needed to restore the constitutional balance of separated powers,” Sauer wrote. In response, attorneys general from Washington State, Arizona, and Oregon called the administration’s argument a “myopic request” that overlooks 125 years of established legal interpretation.

“Being directed to follow the law as it has been universally understood for over 125 years is not an emergency warranting the extraordinary remedy of a stay,” they wrote in their brief.

The Supreme Court’s eventual decision could have profound implications. Until the justices rule, the policy remains paused, and birthright citizenship applies to all individuals born on U.S. soil.

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