The Supreme Court debates Wednesday a central question in American identity: acquisition of citizenship by birth in the United States, which Donald Trump, who plans to attend the arguments, challenges in the name of his fight against illegal immigration.
The nine judges, six conservatives and three progressives, will have to rule on the government’s appeal against the decisions of lower courts, all of which have concluded the unconstitutionality of a decree signed by Donald Trump upon his return to the White House.
This decree, the most controversial of his second term, revokes birthright citizenship for children of immigrants in irregular situations to eliminate what he sees as an incentive for immigration to the United States.
Emphasizing the importance of this measure, Donald Trump plans to attend the arguments in person before the Supreme Court at 10 a.m. (2 p.m. GMT), according to the White House. American media highlight that this is the first time a sitting president has attended these debates.
“I’m going,” he told the press on Tuesday, “I think.”
Apparently anticipating another stinging setback before the Supreme Court, which has already invalidated his tariff rights imposed on many countries based on an economic emergency law in February, Mr. Trump is already fuming against the judges.
Birthright citizenship “concerns the children of slaves,” he wrote on his Truth Social network on Monday, referring to the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War to guarantee the rights of freed slaves and their descendants.
“The whole world is laughing at how stupid our American judicial system has become (TARIFF RIGHTS!),” he fumed, insulting “idiot judges,” in reference to the Supreme Court’s decision on tariff rights, adopted by six votes to three, with half of the conservatives voting with the three progressives.
The 14th Amendment establishes the principle of birthright citizenship, whereby every child born in the United States is automatically an American citizen.
Applied for over 150 years, it was reaffirmed in 1898 by a Supreme Court ruling recognizing that Wong Kim Ark, son of Chinese immigrants born in California (west), was indeed an American citizen by birth.
But Donald Trump’s decree prohibits the federal government from issuing passports, citizenship certificates, or other documents to children born in the United States whose mother is temporarily or illegally residing there, and whose father is not an American citizen or a permanent resident – the holder of the famous “green card.”
Also targeted are children whose parents are temporarily residing in the United States on student, work, or tourist visas.
Unlike former slaves and their descendants “whose allegiance to the United States had generally been established by generations of parental residence,” the children of foreigners temporarily residing in the United States or of illegal immigrants cannot rely on the 14th Amendment, argues the government’s legal advisor, John Sauer, in his written arguments.
“Foreigners in an illegal situation do not have the legal capacity to establish such residence,” he argues, ensuring that “this interpretation has predominated for most of American history,” contrary to the consistent practice for over half a century.
But for the opposing side, represented notably by the influential civil rights defense organization ACLU, “the government is seeking nothing less than a reshaping of the constitutional foundations of our nation.”
“The decree may be prospective in form, applying to tens of thousands of children born each month and tearing apart families across the country. But more importantly, the government’s baseless arguments, if accepted, would cast a shadow over the citizenship of millions of Americans, for generations,” it warns.
“This is a fight for our best American values: the fact that all of us, born on American soil, are full-fledged citizens,” wrote ACLU’s Legal Director Cecillia Wang in a message, who will plead before the Court on Wednesday.
According to projections made in May 2025 by researchers at Penn State University, based on approximately 255,000 births per year, a revocation of birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants or temporary residents would reduce the number of illegal immigrants by 2.7 million by 2045 and 5.4 million by 2075.
The Court’s decision is expected by the end of its annual session, which concludes at the end of June.
