The US Supreme Court has ruled against Trump's decision on birthright citizenship

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against Donald Trump's executive order limiting citizenship, in a closely watched decision that upheld a lower court decision.

The president's order, not retroactive, would have denied citizenship to those born to US parents without permission, or who are there legally but temporarily, such as those on a work or student visa.

The 6-3 decision in Trump v. Barbara says it's the second time this year that a court has overturned Trump's campaign, following its February decision to repeal his global tax bill. While Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the majority, he insisted that Congress could pass legislation to carve out exceptions to birthrights.

The 14th Amendment, established in the 19th century and supported by subsequent legislation, guaranteed citizenship to children born in the US, with exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats or an enemy in power.

Challengers say the Supreme Court has already answered the question in the 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, who recognized that the citizenship granted under the 14th Amendment includes the children of foreigners.

“Therefore, it is not surprising that in the 128 years since then, we have repeatedly understood Wong Kim Ark's rule to guarantee citizenship to all children born in the United States and under its jurisdiction. We see no reason to depart from that opinion today,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the opinion.

Going forward, critics of the order say, it has the potential to affect, on average, a quarter of a million births in the US each year. In a so-called “friend of the court” motion, a group of municipal and local officials said Trump's order would create “stateless” children who are subject to discrimination and discrimination, which will hinder their access to basic services and health care.

Trump attended the US government's oral hearings before the court on April 1, the first time a president has done so.

'Amazing review view'

The legal challenge directed by Trump involves a class-action lawsuit filed in New Hampshire by parents and children whose citizenship is threatened by the executive order.

The provision in question – the “nationality clause” of the 14th Amendment – states: “All persons born or begotten in the United States and under the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside.”

The administration argues that the phrase “under your jurisdiction” means that being born in the US is not sufficient for citizenship.

Roberts said there is “little evidence” to support the Trump administration's idea of ​​a “dramatic overhaul.”

During the disputes, the American lawyer D. John Sauer, a representative of the administration, said that the promise of citizenship for any child born on American soil has created what he calls a growing industry of “birth tourism.”

Sauer said “countless thousands of foreign nationals from potentially hostile countries have flocked to the United States to give birth in recent decades,” in order to protect their children's citizenship. Asked to explain how serious the issue has become, Sauer cited media reports and admitted that “no one knows for sure.”

The Center for Immigration Studies, which supports immigration restrictions, and the non-partisan Migration Policy Institute, have estimated that number to be between 20,000 and 25,000 babies a year, about two to three percent of all births in the US.

Although many countries do not guarantee citizenship by birth, including Britain and Australia, the pressure from the Trump administration comes as legal entry is delayed and almost all asylum applications are denied, except for white applicants from South Africa, a country where blacks are overrepresented below the poverty line, following decades of racial discrimination.

Also, the administration has carried out a broader deportation campaign compared to previous Democratic and Republican presidential administrations, and the Supreme Court last year issued an unsigned order making it challenging for the government to send people deported to countries they are not from.

The Census Bureau reported that US population growth last year was at one of the lowest rates in recent memory, except in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, due in large part to a historic decline in immigration.

Read the Supreme Court decision on birthright citizenship: