The Birthright Citizenship Decision Will Not End the Birthright Citizenship Debate
3rd July 2026
There was never much doubt that the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Barbara would be issued at the very end of the Court’s term, or that Chief Justice Roberts would save the opinion-writing duties for himself. Nor was there much serious doubt that the Court would reject President Trump’s Executive Order seeking to redefine birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. What was not expected, however, was that the Court would issue a short-yet-sweeping constitutional opinion that only captured five votes. The Court largely neglected the statutory arguments against the Trump EO, and four justices spurned the conventional academic account of birthright citizenship. In the end, an opinion meant to settle the debate over birthright citizenship may have instead kindled a new one.