The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Wednesday in Trump v. Barbara, a case addressing birthright citizenship in the United States. This legal issue arises from President Donald Trump’s executive order dated Jan. 20, 2025, which denies birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. after Feb. 19, 2025, if their parents are either unlawfully present or hold temporary residency.
Central to the case is the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which, post-Civil War, granted citizenship and voting rights to freed African Americans and became a cornerstone of U.S. immigration law. A key point of debate is the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” which legal analysts argue signifies more than mere physical presence in the country.
Ilan Wurman, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, claims that under English common law, the model for U.S. founding documents, protections are only granted to immigrants permitted by a sovereign to be in the United States.
The justices will also consider precedent from the 1898 case U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark, where the Supreme Court ruled that a child born to Chinese parents could be recognized as a U.S. citizen under the 14th Amendment. This ruling established exemptions for children of diplomats, invading armies, and Native Americans from automatic citizenship.