Washington DC [US], December 6 (ANI): The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to President Donald Trump’s executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship, reopening a debate long thought settled since the late 19th century, CNN reported.
By taking the appeal, the high court has moved past procedural issues it addressed earlier this year — when it sided with the administration on technical grounds about how lower courts handled challenges — and will now directly consider whether the policy is lawful.
Cecillia Wang, National Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union, welcomed the development, saying the organization looks forward to the Supreme Court “putting this issue to rest once and for all.” She noted that federal courts have uniformly held the executive order conflicts with the Constitution, an 1898 Supreme Court decision, and federal statute.
The Trump administration’s legal position — regarded by many, including some conservative scholars, as a fringe interpretation — will face intense scrutiny as the court considers the case. A ruling for the administration could overturn a foundational principle of US constitutional and immigration law and affect how newborns’ citizenship is documented. The court is scheduled to hear the case next year and is expected to issue a decision by the end of June.
CNN Supreme Court analyst and Georgetown Law professor Steve Vladeck criticized the administration’s approach as “wrong,” saying it conflicts with relevant statutes, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Supreme Court’s authoritative 1898 ruling in US v. Wong Kim Ark. That 1898 decision established that most people born on US soil are citizens, with limited exceptions.
The administration has argued that Wong Kim Ark was misread for over a century and that the citizenship clause was intended to cover formerly enslaved persons and their descendants, “not the children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court. In its filings, the administration claimed the conventional understanding of the citizenship clause “was mistaken” and had “destructive consequences.” Ending birthright citizenship has been a central element of Trump’s immigration platform.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling on a related procedural question, narrowing but not eliminating lower courts’ power to block presidential actions.
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ANI
Updated At : 07:00 AM Dec 06, 2025 IST
