Court Blocks Trump’s Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship

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A federal appeals court has ruled against President Donald Trump’s attempt to eliminate birthright citizenship, declaring the executive order unconstitutional and reinforcing protections under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The decision ensures that individuals born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ citizenship status, will continue to receive automatic American citizenship.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals delivered the decision in a 2–1 vote, finding that Executive Order 14160, signed on January 20, 2025, conflicted directly with the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. This clause guarantees citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. Judges Michael Day Hawkins and Ronald M. Gould supported the majority opinion, while Judge Patrick J. Bumatay dissented based on legal standing, not the constitutionality of the order itself.

The ruling followed a nationwide injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante in New Hampshire on July 10. Laplante, who granted the case class-action status, stated that denying citizenship to children born in the U.S. to non-citizen parents could cause “irreparable harm.” He described American citizenship as “the greatest privilege that exists in the world.”

Legal precedent played a significant role in the outcome, particularly the 1898 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that children born on U.S. soil are citizens regardless of parental nationality. While the current Supreme Court has moved to limit nationwide injunctions in most cases, it allowed a broader scope for class-action suits like this one.

The plaintiffs, supported by the American Civil Liberties Union and 22 state attorneys general, argued that as many as 150,000 children born annually could be affected by the executive order. The court also noted that restricting the injunction to a few states would disrupt federal benefit programs and create legal inconsistencies.

The administration has announced plans to appeal the ruling, potentially taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Officials maintain the executive order is a legitimate effort to curb misuse of the immigration system, including practices such as “birth tourism,” in which foreign nationals travel to the U.S. solely to secure citizenship for their newborns.