The U.S. Supreme Court issued an order on Thursday announcing it will hear arguments in the Trump administration’s case regarding birthright citizenship.
The case stems from an Executive Order signed by President Trump immediately upon taking office on January 20, 2025. The “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” order described citizenship in the United States as a “priceless and profound gift,” and challenged the extended interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which has been applied to grant broad citizenship to all individuals born in the U.S.
According to the original order, the Fourteenth Amendment “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the U.S.” The order expands on this idea by explaining the text of the Fourteenth Amendment, which requires individuals within the U.S. to be “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in order to be recognized as citizens. The order states that the privilege of citizenship does not apply to individuals whose “mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”
Trump’s order has faced numerous legal challenges since its issuance. Injunctions have been issued by federal judges in Washington, Massachusetts, and Maryland. Attorneys within the Trump administration have argued that the injunctions exceed the bounds of judicial authority and infringe on the president’s lawful exercise of power within the executive branch.
Although the Trump administration requested these injunctions to be narrowed during the course of litigation, the Supreme Court declined to address the matter before the case is argued.
The court is scheduled to hear arguments on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
