Pakistani families living in the United States will continue to see their children receive automatic American citizenship at birth after the US Supreme Court struck down former President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit birthright citizenship. The ruling preserves a long-standing constitutional principle that applies to all children born on US soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that children born in the United States to parents who are unlawfully present or temporarily residing in the country are still “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and therefore qualify for citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the court’s liberal justices. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
The decision reaffirms one of the most significant provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868, which states that nearly all persons born in the United States are American citizens. The court also relied on long-established legal precedent and federal law in rejecting the executive order.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed that Trump’s order could not stand, although he argued that it conflicted with federal law rather than focusing solely on constitutional grounds. The ruling effectively blocks efforts to deny citizenship to children born in the US to undocumented immigrants and temporary visitors.
Had the executive order remained in effect, hundreds of thousands of children born in the United States to undocumented immigrants, foreign workers, students, and temporary visitors could have been affected. The policy had been challenged in multiple courts since Trump signed it on January 20, 2025, and lower courts consistently ruled that it violated constitutional protections.
Following the ruling, Trump criticized the decision and called on Congress to pursue legislative action on the issue. Meanwhile, civil rights groups and immigration advocates welcomed the judgment, describing it as a major victory for a constitutional principle that has been relied upon for more than 150 years.
Also read: Pakistan to Receive Week-Long Monsoon Rains
