Court halts new restrictions
The US Supreme Court has blocked President Donald Trump’s order that sought to tighten rules around birthright citizenship, citing the country’s long-standing legal framework.
What the order proposed
Under the directive issued in February last year, children born in the United States to people living there illegally or to parents on temporary visas would not be granted US citizenship.
Legal challenge across states
The order was challenged in courts across states, where rulings went against the administration. Following those decisions, Trump moved the matter to the Supreme Court.
6–3 decision cites constitutional guarantee
In a 6–3 majority ruling, the Supreme Court said a presidential order cannot override the roughly 160-year-old principle rooted in the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, which grants automatic citizenship to children born in the US regardless of their parents’ citizenship status.
