On June 30, 2026, the United States Supreme Court upheld the principle of birthright citizenship in a 6-3 decision, affirming that children born in the U.S. to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice Roberts, stated, “If Congress intended to limit American citizenship to the children of those domiciled in the United States, nothing in the succinct language of the Citizenship Clause conveyed that design.”

The ruling effectively enshrines birthright citizenship as the law of the land, rejecting challenges from the Trump administration aimed at ending the practice. The NAACP praised the decision as a “powerful affirmation of the constitution and the enduring promise of equality it represents,” while Voto Latino described it as drawing “a permanent line in the sand – defeating a major attempt to divide our families and strip away any doubt that our community belongs here.”

However, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a scathing dissent, arguing that the decision “devalues American citizenship.” Thomas contended that the Court has “repurposed the Fourteenth Amendment to protect its own set of preferred rights” by recognizing a constitutional right to citizenship for children of foreign birth tourists and illegal aliens. He emphasized that the original intent of the 14th Amendment was to secure equal citizenship for freed slaves, not for children of foreign temporary visitors, who he said were attached to their home countries and lacked similar bonds to the U.S.

A South Carolina Republican expressed disappointment with the ruling but vowed to continue efforts in Congress to end what he described as a “major magnet for illegal immigration and birth tourism.”

The Supreme Court also declined to consider the legality of laws restricting firearm purchases by people aged 18 to 20 but indicated it will review bans on semiautomatic rifles in future cases.

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