US Supreme Court (File photo)
The US Supreme Court has agreed to take up the White House’s appeal on President Trump’s January 20 executive order restricting birthright citizenship. The directive seeks to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the US if their mother is in a temporary lawful status (say H-4) or has no legal status, and if the father is not a US citizen or permanent resident.For now, the US government remains barred from enforcing the order under four separate lower-court injunctions. By approaching the Supreme Court, the Trump administration is aiming for a ruling that upholds its reinterpretation of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause and clears the way for the executive order to take effect. Oral arguments are expected in 2026 and according to immigration experts, a final ruling is likely in mid-2026.Immigrant-rights groups reacted sharply to this development, arguing that the Constitution is unambiguous on the question of citizenship. FWD.us president Todd Schulte, president at FWD.us, a bipartisan political organization, said “The Trump administration’s continued, unlawful, and unconstitutional efforts to implement its executive order ending the 14th Amendment’s clear guarantee of birthright citizenship have continually been blocked by the courts. As the SC has decided to take up this case on the merits, the court should and must be as clear as the constitution: those born in the United States are citizens, and no president can overturn the constitution by executive order.”The litigation stems from the Trump administration’s sweeping reinterpretation of the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in the 14th Amendment, overturning more than a century of settled law. Earlier TOI reporting had detailed how the order would bar automatic citizenship for babies born after February 19, 2025, if neither biological parent holds US citizenship or a green card. Immigration attorneys note that this would particularly impact families stuck in the decades-long employment-based green card backlog, many of whom are from India. If the order were to take effect, a child born to an H-1B worker and an H-4 dependent would inherit only the mother’s temporary status, not US citizenship. In more extreme cases, if the mother lacked legal status, the newborn would immediately be deemed unlawfully present, making the child vulnerable to removal under immigration law.Although the Supreme Court’s June 27 ruling narrowed the authority of lower courts to issue universal injunctions, those that are already granted continue to shield affected families until a final order is issued.
