WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to attend a US Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday regarding the constitutionality of his executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for children born to parents in the United States illegally or on temporary visas.
Trump’s executive order was blocked by lower courts, which cited the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause guaranteeing that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Exceptions to this rule include children of foreign diplomats and members of sovereign Native American tribes.
The Trump administration contends that the clause was originally intended to address the rights of former slaves, not children of undocumented migrants or temporary visitors, arguing that such children are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States. This narrow interpretation, however, conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 1898 ruling in Wong Kim Ark appointed by Trump.
Trump’s solicitor general, John Sauer, maintains that automatic citizenship creates incentives for illegal migration and “birth tourism.” Civil liberties groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argue that overturning birthright citizenship would fundamentally undermine the citizenship of millions of Americans.
A Supreme Court decision is expected by late June or early July.
