SUPREME COURT REAFFIRMS BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP
On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Trump v. Barbara, holding that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or lawfully present on a temporary basis are U.S. citizens at birth under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In a 6–3 judgment, the Court rejected the government’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship under Executive Order 14160. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the Court’s principal opinion.
The decision provides welcome clarity and reassurance for foreign national families, employers, universities, and human-resources professionals. It preserves a longstanding constitutional protection and resolves one of the most significant uncertainties created by Executive Order 14160. Most importantly, the ruling confirms that children born in the United States remain citizens at birth regardless of whether their parents are undocumented or are temporarily present in student, employment, visitor, or Visa Waiver Program status.
One technical point: although the judgment was 6–3, Chief Justice Roberts’s constitutional opinion was joined in full by four other justices. Justice Kavanaugh concurred in the judgment but did not join the entire constitutional analysis.