The Supreme Court Is About to Rule on Birthright Citizenship — What Every Immigrant Family Needs to Know Before June 30
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June 21, 2026 | Breaking News | United States
In the next nine days, the United States Supreme Court will issue one of the most consequential rulings in the history of American immigration law.
The case is Trump v. Barbara. The question before the Court is whether President Trump's executive order eliminating birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders is constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment.
A ruling is expected by June 30, 2026 — the last day of the Court's current term.
If the administration wins, an estimated 150,000 children born in the United States every year could be denied American citizenship at birth. If the challengers win, a constitutional right that has been in place since 1868 will be reaffirmed — and Trump's Day One executive order will be permanently blocked.
Here is everything you need to know.
What Is Birthright Citizenship?
Birthright citizenship — known in legal terms as jus soli, meaning "right of the soil" — is the principle that anyone born on U.S. soil is automatically a U.S. citizen, regardless of the immigration status of their parents.
It is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
The amendment was passed specifically to overturn the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision (1857), which had ruled that Black Americans — including formerly enslaved people — could not be citizens.
In United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), the Supreme Court confirmed that birthright citizenship applies to children born to immigrant parents — in that case, the son of Chinese immigrants who could not themselves become citizens under the laws of the time. That ruling has governed American citizenship law for 128 years.
What Did Trump's Executive Order Do?
On January 20, 2025 — his first day back in office — President Trump signed Executive Order 14160, titled "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship."
The order directs all executive branch agencies to stop issuing passports, Social Security numbers, and other citizenship documents to children born in the United States if:
Their mother is undocumented or present on a temporary visa (tourist, student, H-1B, TPS, etc.), and
Their father is neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident
In practice, the order would deny citizenship to children born to millions of people currently living legally in the United States — including H-1B workers, international students, TPS holders, and asylum seekers.
Multiple federal courts immediately blocked the order. By spring 2025, district courts in Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, and New Hampshire had issued injunctions preventing implementation. The order has never taken effect.
How Did the Case Reach the Supreme Court?
The litigation history is complex but important.
June 27, 2025: In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal district courts generally cannot issue nationwide "universal" injunctions — meaning courts can only protect the specific plaintiffs who sued, not everyone in the country.
That ruling narrowed the protection but did not decide whether the executive order itself is constitutional. The underlying legal question remained open.
June 27, 2025 (same day): The ACLU filed a new class action lawsuit — Barbara v. Trump — in federal district court in New Hampshire. The lead plaintiff, Barbara, is a Honduran national who is only identified by her first name because she fears for her safety. The class covers all children born in the United States who would be denied citizenship under the executive order.
December 5, 2025: The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on its merits — meaning the justices would finally decide whether the executive order is constitutional, not just whether courts can block it.
April 1, 2026: Oral arguments were held. In an extraordinary moment, President Trump attended a portion of the arguments — the first sitting president to do so in the official records of the Supreme Court.
June 30, 2026: Decision expected.
What Did the Justices Say at Oral Arguments?
The April 1 hearing gave some insight into where the Court may be leaning — though predicting outcomes from oral arguments is always uncertain.
Chief Justice John Roberts pushed back sharply on the government's framing. When Solicitor General D. John Sauer argued that "eight billion people are one plane ride away from having a child who's a U.S. citizen," Roberts replied: "Well, it's a new world. It's the same Constitution."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor pressed the Solicitor General on the practical mechanics of implementation: who would determine which babies qualify, and when? The Solicitor General acknowledged that parents could contest a determination "after the fact" if the Social Security Administration wrongly classified their child as a non-citizen.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson followed up: "How does this work? Are you suggesting that when a baby is born, people have to present documents? Is this happening in the delivery room?"
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose concurrence in the 2025 Trump v. CASA ruling had been seen as favorable to class-wide injunctions, asked both sides about potential procedural off-ramps that could resolve the case without a sweeping constitutional ruling.
The government notably did not ask the Court to overturn Wong Kim Ark — the 1898 precedent. Instead, it argued that Wong Kim Ark can be read narrowly, applying only to children whose parents are "domiciled" in the United States in a settled sense, not merely present temporarily or unlawfully.
Legal experts widely view this argument as a stretch. Most constitutional scholars say the text of the Fourteenth Amendment, Wong Kim Ark, and more than a century of consistent practice all point in the same direction: birthright citizenship is unconstitutional to restrict by executive order alone.
What Are the Possible Outcomes?
The Supreme Court has several options:
Outcome | What It Means |
Strike down the executive order | Birthright citizenship confirmed; EO permanently blocked; no change for families |
Uphold the executive order | ~150,000 children per year denied citizenship at birth; massive implementation challenge begins |
Narrow ruling (procedural) | Court avoids constitutional ruling; case sent back to lower courts; uncertainty continues |
Rule on class action scope only | Court limits who is protected without deciding the constitutional question |
Most legal observers — including the Council on Foreign Relations — assess that the Court is more likely to rule against the administration on the constitutional question, given the weight of precedent. But the current Court's conservative supermajority has surprised observers before.
Who Would Be Affected If the Executive Order Takes Effect?
The executive order applies to children born in the United States whose mothers are present on temporary status or without status, and whose fathers are not citizens or green card holders.
This is a broader category than most people realize. It would affect children born to:
Parent Category | Examples |
Undocumented immigrants | Anyone without legal status |
Temporary visa holders | H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, L-1, O-1, F-1 students, J-1 exchange visitors |
TPS holders | Haitians, Salvadorans, Ukrainians, and others |
Asylum seekers | People with pending asylum cases |
Parolees | Including Afghan allies paroled into the U.S. |
According to estimates cited in legal filings, approximately 150,000 children born per year in the United States would be affected.
A 2025 joint analysis by the Migration Policy Institute and Pennsylvania State University estimated that ending birthright citizenship could increase the undocumented population by 2.7 million by 2045 — because children born in the U.S. who are not recognized as citizens would grow up without legal status.
What Do Americans Think?
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in April 2026 found:
64% of Americans oppose ending birthright citizenship
32% support it
Opposition cuts across party lines, though it is stronger among Democrats and independents than Republicans.
What About TPS Holders?
The birthright citizenship ruling is not the only major Supreme Court decision expected before June 30. The Court has also agreed to decide whether the Trump administration can terminate Temporary Protected Status for approximately 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians.
That decision could ultimately affect more than a million people — and could reshape how TPS is applied, and potentially terminated, for other countries in the future.
We will cover that ruling separately as soon as it is issued.
What Should Immigrant Families Do Right Now?
If you have a child born in the United States, or are expecting a child, here is what to know:
The executive order is not in effect. Every court that has reviewed it has blocked it. Children born in the United States today are still recognized as U.S. citizens, regardless of their parents' immigration status.
Document your child's citizenship now. If your child was born in the United States, obtain a U.S. passport and keep the birth certificate in a safe place. A valid U.S. passport is the strongest proof of citizenship.
The ruling applies prospectively. The executive order, by its own terms, applies only to children born after it takes effect — not to children already born. A Supreme Court ruling upholding the order would not strip citizenship from children already recognized as citizens.
Consult an immigration attorney if you have concerns. The legal landscape may shift significantly depending on the ruling. If you are expecting a child and have questions about their citizenship status under different scenarios, a licensed immigration attorney can walk through your specific situation.
Watch for the ruling. The Supreme Court typically issues its remaining opinions on Mondays and Thursdays. With the term ending June 30, rulings are expected on June 23, 26, and 30. We will publish an immediate analysis as soon as the Trump v. Barbara decision is released.
The Immigrants will publish a full analysis of the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. Barbara as soon as it is issued. Bookmark immigrants.live for updates.
About The Immigrants
The Immigrants is an independent publication covering the policies, systems, and decisions that shape the lives of people who move across borders.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Barbara has not yet been issued. The legal status of birthright citizenship may change. Consult a licensed immigration attorney for advice specific to your situation.
Sources: CNN Politics (June 3, 2026), Council on Foreign Relations (June 18, 2026), Wikipedia/Trump v. Barbara, Congress.gov CRS Legal Sidebar LSB11423 (April 2026), ACLU press releases, ACLU-NH, ASAP Together, Clark Hill PLC, Reuters/Ipsos poll (April 2026), Migration Policy Institute/Penn State analysis (2025), bizlegalservices.com (June 19, 2026).
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