The Supreme Court reaffirmed birthright citizenship in a 6-3 ruling in Trump v. Barbara on June 30, 2026. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion for the Court.

The ruling reaffirmed the Court's 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark. That previous decision interpreted the 14th Amendment phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" as creating four narrow exceptions to birthright citizenship for groups such as children of foreign diplomats.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito issued dissenting opinions in Trump v. Barbara. Justice Kavanaugh disagreed with treating the four-group list of exceptions to birthright citizenship as exclusive. In his dissent, Kavanaugh stated that constitutional rules and exceptions must be applied "not only to circumstances as they existed in 1787, 1791, and 1868" but also to "modern situations that were unknown or unanticipated by the Constitution's Framers." He added, "The original constitutional principles do not change absent a constitutional amendment." Kavanaugh also noted "significant illegal immigration into the United States" and "temporary visitors who give birth in the United States" in his dissent.

Justice Alito's argument focused on the concept of "allegiance" as it was understood in 1868. He criticized "birth tourists" who come to the United States "solely for the purpose of giving birth to a child and then promptly return home."

Why It Matters

This ruling by the Supreme Court clarifies the interpretation of the 14th Amendment regarding birthright citizenship. By reaffirming the 1898 United States v. Wong Kim Ark decision, the ruling maintains a longstanding legal precedent.

The dissenting opinions in Trump v. Barbara by Justices Kavanaugh and Alito drew upon a similar legal approach seen in the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling. In the Dobbs decision, which Justice Alito also authored the majority opinion for and Justice Kavanaugh joined, the meaning of the 14th Amendment was framed by the law in 1868. The dissenting justices in Dobbs, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan, noted that women did not vote or serve in political office in 1868.