With President Donald Trump looking on, the U.S. Supreme Court on April 1 heard arguments on whether children born in the United States should be automatically granted U.S. citizenship. This is an important case that could overturn a precedent set 158 years ago.
The court will decide whether President Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship is constitutional in Trump v. Barbara. Trump, who signed the executive order shortly after taking office in January 2025, will attend the hearing, making him the first sitting president to attend oral arguments.
A verdict is expected to be handed down this summer.
This is the second time the Supreme Court has considered President Trump’s citizenship order. On June 27, 2025, the justices voted 6-3 to partially suspend a district court’s temporary restriction that blocked President Trump’s order from taking effect. The court said the district court likely overstepped its authority.
The court did not rule on whether President Trump’s order itself was constitutional. However, during oral arguments on May 15, none of the justices expressed support for the administration’s argument that Trump’s order is consistent with the Civil Rights Clause of the 14th Amendment and previous Supreme Court decisions on the clause.
Since 1868, birthright citizenship makes anyone born in the United States a citizen, whether a child of a citizen, an alien legally residing in the United States, or an illegal immigrant.
Changes in birthright laws will affect a large portion of the U.S. population.
According to 2024 data from the U.S. Census, more than 25 million foreign-born U.S. residents were naturalized citizens.
How many people have obtained citizenship by birthright?
Eliminating birthright citizenship would result in an average of 255,000 children being born without citizenship each year in the United States, increasing the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the United States by 2.7 million by 2045 and 5.4 million by 2075, according to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute and the Pennsylvania Population Research Institute.
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In 2022, the Pew Research Center found that approximately 4.4 million U.S.-born children under the age of 18 were living with illegal immigrant parents.
How many illegal immigrants live in the United States
The number of illegal immigrants in the United States has increased since the 1990s, reaching 12.2 million in 2007, according to Pew Research Center estimates.
Where do foreign-born people live in the United States?
In 2022, nearly a quarter of the foreign-born population of the United States lived in California. According to the Census Bureau, foreign-born people make up more than 20% of the total population of New Jersey, New York, California, and Florida.
Foreign-born residents refer to all people born outside the United States, including naturalized U.S. citizens. lawful permanent resident. Temporary immigrants such as international students. Humanitarian immigration such as refugees. and unauthorized immigration.
Nearly every state had an increase in foreign-born population in 2022 compared to 2010. Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia had the largest increases in foreign-born populations from 2010 to 2022, with each state increasing by more than 40%.
The foreign-born population of the United States has increased over the past 50 years. In 1970, 4.7% of the U.S. population was born outside the country. By 2022, 13.9% of the U.S. population will be foreign-born.
Where do foreign-born U.S. residents immigrate from?
More than half of foreign-born residents of the United States immigrated from Latin American countries, according to the Census Bureau. Nearly one-third of the population immigrated from Asia.
What is naturalization?
The Council on Foreign Relations describes naturalization as a process by which non-U.S. nationals can apply for citizenship after meeting certain requirements, such as passing a civics exam, demonstrating basic English proficiency, and continuing residence in the United States.
Which countries grant birthright citizenship?
According to a Pew Research Center analysis, 32 other countries around the world, most of them in the Western Hemisphere, have birthright citizenship laws that are substantially similar to those in the United States.
read more:
Countries in the Americas recognize citizenship by birthright. What happens if we cancel it?
Key takeaways from the historic Supreme Court debate on birthright citizenship
Note This article updates a previous report with new information.
Contributions by Lauren Villagran, Maureen Groppe, and Bert Jansen
SOURCE USA TODAY NETWORK REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS. Reuters; U.S. Census Bureau
