Know Your Rights: Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order

On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship as unconstitutional. Specifically, the Court said the executive order issued on January 20, 2025 violates the 14th Amendment.

This means that America’s law on birthright citizenship remains unchanged and protected: if you are born in the U.S., you are a U.S. citizen, regardless of your parents’ immigration status. 

The Supreme Court decision can be viewed here.

No, the Trump Administration cannot appeal the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Barbara. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the American judicial system. Decisions from the Supreme Court are final and not appealable.

Birthright citizenship is the law under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as well as a federal statute called the Immigration Nationality Act. The Supreme Court’s decision in Barbara further affirms the principle that birthright citizenship applies to children born in the U.S. regardless of their parents’ immigration status.  

There is a procedure to change or amend parts of the U.S. Constitution, but that process is intentionally difficult. Any changes to birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment would require a proposed constitutional amendment that needs either a two thirds majority vote in both the House and the Senate, or a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Three quarters of the nation's state legislatures would also then need to ratify the proposed amendment.

A class action is a lawsuit where one or more individuals sue on behalf of a larger group of people. The full group of people who can get relief from a favorable ruling is known as the “class” or “class members.”

Barbara v. Trump is a class-action case that seeks to strike down the Trump administration’s executive order on birthright citizenship and permanently stop the administration from applying it to anyone.

All children who are targeted by the executive order are automatically class members in Barbara. That means all children born in the United States on or after February 20, 2025 are part of the class if: (1) their father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of their birth, and (2) their mother’s presence in the United States was unlawful or lawful but temporary at the time of their birth.

The Supreme Court decision in Barbara means that the Trump Administration cannot implement or enforce its executive order restricting birthright citizenship on you, your family member or anyone. If your child is born in the United States, whether they are a class member (or not), your child is a U.S. citizen.

Birthright citizenship refers to the legal principle that someone born in a country is automatically a citizen of that country. The United States is one of over 30 countries with birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is a constitutional right guaranteed by the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and federal statute.

For over 125 years and across multiple generations, U.S. law has guaranteed that if you are born in the United States, you are a citizen. The Supreme Court upheld this principle in its June 30, 2026  decision; the Supreme Court decision can be viewed here.

Birthright citizenship embodies America’s most fundamental promise that all children born on our soil begin life as full and equal members of our national community, regardless of their parents’ race, origins, status or circumstances. This principle has enabled generations of children to pursue their dreams and build a stronger America.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed executive order 14,160, which aimed to take away citizenship from children born in the United States to parents who lack permanent immigration status.

As written, the executive order attempted to get rid of birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children of certain immigrants, born after February 19, 2025.  Specifically, it said the government would no longer recognize citizenship for a child born in the United States if their father is not a citizen or legal permanent resident, and if their mother is (1) in the U.S. without legal status or (2) in the U.S. on a “lawful but temporary” basis.

Multiple lawsuits were filed challenging executive order 14,160, including Barbara v. Trump. As a result of advocacy efforts across communities, the executive order was struck down as illegal.

Birthright citizenship is a core American policy and principle that has made our country stronger. Taking birthright citizenship away from children born in the U.S. to parents who lack permanent immigration status would impact all Americans. The harms and disadvantages would be clear and unavoidable:

• Restricting birthright citizenship would hurt children and families. Ending birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children with parents who are either unauthorized or are temporary immigrants would result in hundreds of thousands of children without U.S. citizenship each year. Migration Policy Institute estimates that  255,000 babies would be denied U.S. citizenship annually under a proposed policy like Executive Order 14,160. Without U.S. citizenship, these children would face increased risks of health and economic instability as they would be ineligible for basic benefits through federal programs like CHIP, SNAP and Medicaid. Impacted children would face exclusion from society and potential detention and deportation. The fear and uncertainty can be extremely damaging for children and their families. Some children would be left stateless, without any country recognizing them as a national or a citizen. That is why child advocacy groups support universal birthright citizenship.

• Restricting birthright citizenship would add bureaucracy and costs for all parents and families, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The American Immigration Council points out that restricting birthright citizenship would increase bureaucracy and costs for all Americans, citizens and immigrants alike. A birth certificate issued by a jurisdiction within the United States counts as proof of U.S. citizenship, but this would change if birthright citizenship was eliminated. Instead, parents would have to undergo a citizenship verification process in order to prove their child’s citizenship – a process that would be invasive and complex, and would inevitably result in delays and errors. Without birthright citizenship, proving a child’s citizenship status would not only be more complex, but also more costly. A study from the National Foundation for American Policy estimates that new parents could find themselves paying an additional $3,000 in government and legal fees to prove the citizenship status of each baby born in this country.

• Restricting birthright citizenship would disproportionately harm Latino and AAPI communities. A proposed policy like Executive Order 14,160 directly targets children born to parents without permanent legal status, including parents with work visas, student visas, refugee and asylum seekers fleeing persecution and violence. Latinos and AAPIs, respectively, make up the largest noncitizen population in the U.S. Restricting birthright citizenship by parents’ immigration status would disproportionately affect Latino and AAPI communities.

Birthright citizenship is a positive feature of American society. In the words of Justice Jackson, in her concurrence in Barbara, it is the “anticaste engine [of the U.S. Constitution].  And with it, the Nation gained a new font of legitimacy and vitality.” That is why the Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara is a victory for all Americans. Birthright citizenship is a policy and constitutional right that should be celebrated and preserved.

• Birthright citizenship advances equality under the law. Because all persons born on U.S. soil are citizens alike, birthright citizenship as a policy has effectively guarded against the creation of a caste system or different tiers of citizenship. In an equal and democratic society, citizenship should not be conditioned on race, religion, or the immigration status of one's parents.

• Birthright citizenship has greatly strengthened the U.S. economy. Birthright citizens make an outsized contribution to the U.S. economy -- they generate more than their fair share of taxes, they work in skilled and needed professions, revitalize cities, and create businesses that employ U.S. citizens. A recent study conservatively estimates that birthright citizenship will have contributed $7.7 trillion to the US economy between 1975 and 2074.

• Birthright citizenship reduces crime and strengthens communities. Birthright citizenship allows new generations to be welcomed as Americans, and facilitates integration and participation in civic and community life across the United States. Birthright citizenship fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among its beneficiaries and their families. This has resulted in positive outcomes, including reduction in crime and better educational outcomes among youth.
  

• ALC: Wong Kim Ark’s Legacy Lives on With Us
• ALC: Know Your Rights Guide for Immigrant Communities in 2025
• NILC: Know Your Rights Resource Page
• Native American Rights Fund: Native Americans and Immigration Enforcement - Know Your Rights
• American Immigration Council: Birthright Citizenship in the United States
• AAPI New Jersey: Teaching the 14th Amendment and Birthright Citizenship