Overview
- The Court granted review on Dec. 5 and is expected to issue a decision by late June or early July 2026.
- The case comes from a New Hampshire class action that barred enforcement nationwide, while a separate 9th Circuit dispute was left unaddressed.
- Executive Order 14160, signed Jan. 20, 2025, directs agencies not to recognize U.S. citizenship for children born here to parents who are unlawfully present or in the country only temporarily.
- Every lower court to consider the policy has blocked it as violating or likely violating the Fourteenth Amendment and longstanding precedent such as United States v. Wong Kim Ark; the order has never taken effect.
- Solicitor General D. John Sauer argues the Citizenship Clause was meant to cover freed slaves and not children of unauthorized or temporary visitors, a view backed by 24 Republican-led states and 27 GOP lawmakers including Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham.