Trump v. Barbara
609 U. S. ___ (2026) · 6/30/26
Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.
Edition: slip opinion, revised 7/01/26
Voices: Syllabus — prepared by the Reporter of Decisions · Chief Justice Roberts delivered the opinion of the Court. · Justice Jackson, with whom Justice Sotomayor joins as to the introduction and Part I, concurring. · Justice Kavanaugh, concurring in the judgment and dissenting in part. · Justice Thomas, with whom Justice Gorsuch joins, dissenting. · Justice Alito, dissenting. · Justice Gorsuch, dissenting.
The question presented is whether the Constitution guarantees citizenship to children born in the United States of parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country. Under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, “[a]ll 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.” On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 14160, titled Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship. The Order provides that children born in the United…
Held: Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. Pp. 2–26. (a) The Citizenship Clause must be understood in light of its historical context, from the English common law to the widespread condemnation of the Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. 393. Pp. 2–9. (1) Under the English common law, children “born within the [sovereign’s] dominions” owed a natural “allegiance” to the sovereign who protected them at…Read it in the reading room ›