Overview
- The Supreme Court ruled on June 30 that President Trump’s Executive Order 14160 was inconsistent with the 14th Amendment and could not strip automatic citizenship from most U.S.-born children.
- President Trump said on July 8 he would seek an immediate rehearing but the 25-day deadline expired on July 27 with no petition entered on the Court’s docket.
- Under Rule 44 a rehearing requires a majority vote initiated by a justice who joined the decision and the Court has very rarely granted rehearing of argued cases.
- Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed the order could not stand on different statutory grounds, which some Republicans cite as a legislative path but that route would face prompt constitutional challenges.
- With the Court’s ruling intact, U.S.-born children retain citizenship and the dispute has shifted to Congress and public debate where any law or amendment would encounter steep legal and political hurdles.