US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his attempt to end birthright citizenship, insisting that the long-standing constitutional principle was designed to protect the children of enslaved people, not what he described as “wealthy foreigners” who travel to the United States to give birth.
Speaking in an interview with Politico, Trump defended the executive order he signed on his first day back in office in January 2025.
That order seeks to halt the automatic granting of citizenship to children born on US soil. He warned that a Supreme Court ruling against his administration would be “devastating”, signalling how central the issue has become to his immigration agenda.
Trump argued that the origins of birthright citizenship stretch back to the Civil War and the fight to guarantee the rights of formerly enslaved people and their descendants.
In his words, the legal basis “had everything to do with the babies of slaves”.
He insisted it was never meant for “some rich person coming from another country” whose entire family, he said, could then become American citizens. He added that he believed the courts “understand it, too”.
The debate hinges on the 14th Amendment, adopted in 1868, which states that “all persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States”.
The amendment was written to secure citizenship for formerly enslaved people and others born within the country, and it has been interpreted for more than a century as guaranteeing birthright citizenship regardless of parental status.
Trump’s January order changed that long-held practice by declaring that babies born more than 30 days after the inauguration would no longer qualify automatically.
The move drew immediate legal challenges, and several federal courts issued early rulings blocking the policy.
That landscape shifted in June when the Supreme Court determined that lower federal courts lacked the authority to issue sweeping nationwide injunctions against an executive order.
The ruling opened the door for the justices to take up the constitutional question themselves, setting the stage for a major test of presidential power and the scope of the 14th Amendment.
Trump has defended the policy on economic grounds, arguing that the country “cannot afford to house tens of millions of people”.
His administration has framed the order as part of a broader push to overhaul immigration rules and tighten border controls.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the coming months. Whatever the outcome, the decision promises to reshape the national conversation on citizenship, immigration and the enduring reach of a post-Civil War amendment that continues to define American identity.