Supreme Court debates birthright citizenship in landmark immigration case

The US Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments today on birthright citizenship. The case centres on whether children born in the US to non-citizen parents automatically become citizens. Justices have already referenced the landmark 1898 ruling United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which affirmed this right under the 14th Amendment.

The decision, expected by late June or early July, could either strongly reaffirm birthright citizenship or take a more limited approach. Legal experts suggest the court's conservative majority may play a key role in shaping the outcome.

The court's decision to take up the case last summer came at the justices' own insistence. Today's arguments will examine whether Wong Kim Ark—which established that birth on US soil grants citizenship, regardless of parents' status—should be revisited or upheld. The 14th Amendment's wording has long been interpreted this way, with later laws like the 1940 Nationality Act and the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act only affecting citizenship for children born abroad to US citizens.

Legal scholar Stephen Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, expects Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett to be pivotal in the ruling. Their influence could determine whether the court issues a sweeping endorsement of birthright citizenship or finds a narrower legal path. Vladeck notes that while Congress has debated immigration policy, the Supreme Court has never overturned *Wong Kim Ark*—a precedent reinforced by later cases like *Plyler v. Doe*. President Trump's presence in the courtroom is unlikely to sway the justices' reasoning or behaviour. Observers suggest the more the debate focuses on Congress's role, the less favourable the outcome may be for the Trump administration. The final ruling could either deliver a decisive victory for birthright citizenship or a closely contested decision with lasting implications.

A decision is due by late June or early July. The ruling will clarify whether the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship by birth remains unchanged or faces new legal limits. Either way, the outcome will shape future debates on immigration and constitutional rights in the US.