Overview
- President Trump’s January 20 executive order directs agencies not to issue citizenship documents to U.S.-born children of parents who are unlawfully present or only temporarily in the country.
- Lower federal courts across multiple jurisdictions have blocked the policy as unconstitutional, and it has never taken effect.
- The Supreme Court granted review from a New Hampshire class action that bars enforcement against all affected babies, but it took no action on a related 9th Circuit case brought by several states.
- The administration, led by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, argues the Citizenship Clause’s phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” excludes children of temporary visitors and those here unlawfully, while challengers cite the 1898 Wong Kim Ark precedent and federal statutes supporting near‑universal birthright by place of birth.
- Oral arguments are expected in spring 2026 with a ruling likely by early summer, marking the first full merits review of this administration’s immigration directives this term.