Federal appeals court rules Trump's birthright citizenship executive order is unconstitutional

Source: Scripps News

Posted 28 minutes ago


A federal appeals court has ruled that an executive order that narrowed birthright citizenship in the U.S. is unconstitutional.

The order, which President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office on January 20, 2025, placed sharp limits on eligibility for birthright citizenship. It would no longer automatically grant citizenship at birth to children of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status.

But on Wednesday, judges of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the order was unconstitutional. "We conclude that the Executive Order is invalid because it contradicts the plain language of the Fourteenth Amendment’s grant of citizenship to “all persons born in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a)(1)," the panel wrote.

The Trump administration said the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” meant the U.S. could deny citizenship to children born from women in the country illegally.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/politics/the-president/federal-appeals-court-rules-trumps-birthright-citizenship-executive-order-is-unconstitutional