US President Donald Trump has sparked controversy by arguing that birthright citizenship, enshrined in the 14th Amendment, was originally meant to protect children of enslaved people, not “wealthy foreigners” giving birth in the US.
In a Politico interview, Trump defended his January 2025 executive order aiming to end automatic citizenship for US-born children, warning a Supreme Court ruling against his administration would be “devastating”.
The 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868 post-Civil War, states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens”.
Trump claims the policy incentivizes illegal immigration, saying the US “cannot afford to house tens of millions of people”.
However, legal challenges have blocked the order, and in June, the Supreme Court ruled lower courts can’t halt it nationwide.
The justices will now review its constitutionality, with arguments expected in 2026 and a ruling by summer.