Overview
- The executive order seeks to deny citizenship to most children born in the U.S. to undocumented and temporary visitors, a policy blocked by lower courts and now under Supreme Court review.
- Late-19th-century Supreme Court precedent, including Wong Kim Ark, read the Amendment in line with common law and recognized only narrow exceptions for diplomats’ children, hostile occupiers, and certain tribal members.
- Recent commentary and an amicus brief by Eugene Volokh defend the longstanding jus soli rule, arguing that children born under U.S. governing authority are citizens regardless of parental status.
- A small group of scholars, including John Eastman and Rogers Smith, advances a revisionist reading that would limit birthright citizenship, which critics contend departs from settled law.
- Observers expect the Court to reject the order, with a ruling anticipated this summer that will determine whether the century-old consensus on birthright citizenship stands.