The Supreme Court will debate on Wednesday a central issue in American identity: birthright citizenship in the United States. For the first time in the institution’s history, President Donald Trump plans to attend the arguments.
The nine justices, six conservatives and three progressives, will rule on the government’s appeal against lower court decisions, all of which have concluded the unconstitutionality of a decree signed by Donald Trump since his return to the White House. This decree, the most controversial of his second term, aims to eliminate birthright citizenship for children of immigrants in irregular situations in order to remove what he considers an incentive for immigration to the United States.
Emphasizing the importance of this measure, Donald Trump plans to personally attend the arguments before the Supreme Court at 10 a.m. (4 p.m. in France). American media highlight that this is the first time a sitting president has attended these debates.
Trump, apparently expecting another resounding defeat before the Supreme Court, which already invalidated his tariffs on many countries based on an economic emergency law in February, is already furious with the judges.
The 14th amendment enshrines the principle of birthright citizenship, where any child born in the United States is automatically a U.S. citizen. But Trump’s decree prohibits the federal government from issuing passports, citizenship certificates, or other documents to children born in the U.S. whose mother is staying there illegally or temporarily, and whose father is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident – holding the famous “green card.” It also targets children whose parents are temporarily residing in the U.S. with student, work, or tourist visas.
According to the government’s legal advisor, John Sauer, children of foreign nationals temporarily residing in the U.S. or undocumented immigrants cannot benefit from the 14th amendment. This interpretation goes against the practice that has been constant for over half a century.
ACLU, a civil rights organization, argues that the government is seeking nothing less than a reshaping of the constitutional foundations of the nation.
According to projections made by Penn State University researchers in May 2025, if birthright citizenship is revoked for children of immigrants in irregular situations or temporary residents, it could reduce the number of illegal immigrants to 2.7 million by 2045 and 5.4 million by 2075. The Court’s decision is expected by the end of its annual session, which concludes at the end of June.
