He said what he said
President Trump warned on social media that the Supreme Court is likely to “come to the wrong conclusion” on his plan to curb birthright citizenship, saying a recent 6-3 decision on tariffs proves the court can rule against him even when he thinks the law or history supports his position, and he singled out three conservative justices he praised while criticizing the rest.
The tariffs decision that set the tone
Last week the high court ruled 6-3 that the president did not have authority under a 1977 emergency powers law to impose certain tariffs, with Chief Justice Roberts writing the majority opinion joined by two conservatives and three liberals, and three justices dissenting; the ruling has become political fodder because the president says it both limits and oddly expands the executive branch in ways he finds useful.
What the executive order would change
On his first day back in office, Trump issued an order instructing federal agencies to recognize as citizens only those born to people who are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, a phrase taken from the Fourteenth Amendment that the administration interprets to exclude children born to people here illegally, which would be a big shift from current practice.
The lawsuits and court roadblocks
Multiple lawsuits sprang up quickly to block the order, and district judges issued injunctions that appeals courts in San Francisco, Boston, and Richmond have upheld so far, so the policy remains on hold while the legal fight moves through the federal system and could end up back at the Supreme Court.
The constitutional text at issue
The fourteenth Amendment says all persons born or naturalized in the United States and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens, and legal scholars disagree about that clause: some read it to limit birthright citizenship to citizens and lawful permanent residents, which is what the administration argues, while others say it covers virtually everyone born here.
Birth tourism and the political angle
Advocates for change point to reports of Chinese birth tourism and estimates that hundreds of thousands born here to foreign parents now live overseas but hold U.S. citizenship, and Republican lawmakers have used those figures in briefs to the court to argue the current rule has practical and electoral consequences that Congress and the courts should address.
Why the next rulings will matter
If the courts allow the executive order to stand it would rewrite a long-standing practice without a new law from Congress, and if the courts block it the administration will claim the judiciary is standing in the way of enforcement, so either outcome will shape how future presidents use executive power and how Congress responds to hot-button immigration issues.
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