• The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 to uphold birthright citizenship for nearly all children born in the country.
• This ruling rejects President Trump's executive order targeting birthright citizenship.
• Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized that all children born on US soil are citizens at birth under the 14th Amendment.
• The ruling is seen as a major setback for Trump's immigration agenda and has prompted reactions from both advocates and lawmakers.
• Trump has vowed to pursue legislative means to challenge this ruling despite its constitutional grounding.

In a landmark decision, the US Supreme Court unanimously ruled 6-3 that birthright citizenship is constitutionally protected under the 14th Amendment, ultimately rejecting an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that sought to limit this vital immigration policy. Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized that children born in the United States, regardless of their parents' immigration status, are granted citizenship at birth, thereby reinforcing a long-standing legal tradition that dates back to the amendment's ratification in 1868, which was primarily aimed at securing rights for former slaves and their descendants, according to SCMP.

The ruling specifically addressed Trump’s executive order, which would have denied citizenship to children born to undocumented immigrants and those on temporary visas. The decision stemmed from arguments that focused on the interpretation of whom the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause protects. The court maintained that nearly all individuals born on US soil are American citizens by birth, as supported by precedent from the 1898 case of Wong Kim Ark, reported IndiaTimes and Le Monde.

President Trump's response to the Supreme Court's ruling was one of defiance; he called the decision “too bad for our country” and expressed intentions to pursue legislative measures to curtail birthright citizenship through Congress rather than a constitutional amendment. He emphasized this point by stating, “Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship,” as noted on his social media platform, IndiaTimes and BBC.

Civil rights advocates celebrated the ruling as a major victory, asserting that it enshrines the principle that citizenship should not be determined by the legal status of one's parents. The ACLU’s executive director called the decision "one of the most important constitutional cases of the past 100 years," which underscores the ongoing debates surrounding immigration policy in the United States and the fundamental rights of children born within the country, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The ruling not only reaffirms the rights of countless children but also solidifies a prevailing view within the judiciary that birthright citizenship is a cornerstone of American identity. As the administration gears up for potential legislative actions, constitutional scholars have pointed out that adjusting the interpretation of the 14th Amendment would require a constitutional amendment or new legal frameworks, making such changes exceptionally challenging, according to Middle East Eye and Al Jazeera.