Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor attend the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
All three states had issued nationwide injunctions blocking the birthright citizenship ban from taking force – a move that lawyers for the Trump administration argued in their Supreme Court filing was overly broad.
Acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris asked the justices to limit the scope of the rulings to cover only individuals directly impacted by the relevant courts.
"These cases – which involve challenges to the President's January 20, 2025 Executive Order concerning birthright citizenship – raise important constitutional questions with major ramifications for securing the border," Harris wrote in their appeal.
To date, no court has sided with the Trump administration's executive order seeking to ban birthright citizenship, though multiple district courts have blocked it from taking effect.
NINTH CIRCUIT REJECTS TRUMP'S BID TO REINSTATE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER
Supreme Court justices attend the State of the Union address by President Joe Biden at the Capitol on March 7, 2024. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)
Implementation of Trump's executive order was initially set for Feb. 19. The policy would have affected hundreds of thousands of children born in the U.S. each year.
The order sought to reinterpret the 14th Amendment, which states: "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."
Under the Trump administration’s proposed interpretation – later blocked by federal courts – children born to illegal immigrants or to those who were here legally but on temporary non-immigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright.
More than 22 U.S. states and immigrants' rights groups quickly sued the Trump administration to block the change to birthright citizenship, arguing in court filings that the executive order is both unconstitutional and "unprecedented."
The states have also argued that the 14th Amendment does, in fact, guarantee citizenship to persons born on U.S. soil and naturalized in the U.S.
The U.S. is one of roughly 30 countries where birthright citizenship applies.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI, and other national news.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/supreme-court-hear-oral-arguments-birthright-citizenship-case