Overview
- The Court will hear Trump v. Barbara, which contests President Trump’s 2025 order limiting citizenship for some children born in the United States.
- The dispute centers on what “subject to the jurisdiction” means in the 14th Amendment and whether a president can change that without a constitutional amendment.
- A key precedent is United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), which courts have read to grant citizenship to nearly all people born on U.S. soil, with narrow exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats.
- New Pew Research Center analysis finds only 33 countries automatically grant citizenship to nearly anyone born there, while 156 of 191 countries base citizenship at birth mainly on a parent’s nationality.
- Critics warn curbing birthright citizenship would create U.S.-born noncitizens and trigger wide legal and social fallout for families, schools, employers and government records.