No. 25-365. Argued April 1,2026—Decided June 30, 2026 The question presented is whether the Constitution guarantees citizen-ship to children born in the United States of parents who are unlaw-fully or temporarily present in the country.
Under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, “All persons born or natural-ized 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 States of parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present here are not “subject to the ju-risdiction. of the United States—and thus do not qualify for citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment or the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which uses the same language. 90 Fed. Reg. 8449. Several parents filed suit, some in the name of their children arguing that the Executive Order Violates the Fourteenth Amendment and the INA.
The District Court agreed, provisionally certified a nationwide class of children who would be denied citizenship by the Order, and prelimi-narily enjoined the Order’s enforcement. This Court granted certiorari before judgment.
Held: Children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or tem-porarily present are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizen-ship Clause. Pp. 2-26. (a) The Citizenship Clause must be understood in light of its histor-ical context, from the English common law to the widespread condem-nation of the Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, 19 How. 393.
