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Trump v. Barbara: Supreme Court Considers

Birthright Citizenship



April   29, 2026

On April 1, 2026, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara. The question before the
Court was whether Executive Order 14160 (E.O. 14160, or the E.O.), Protecting the Meaning and Value
of American Citizenship, is constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause and
authorized by 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a), a provision ofthe Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) that codifies
the Citizenship Clause. This Legal Sidebar provides a brief overview of the arguments made by the
parties in this litigation and a summary of the oral argument. For further information on E.O. 14160 and
earlier stages of the litigation, see CRS Legal Sidebar LSB11414, Birthright Citizenship: Litigation Status
Update, by Hannah Solomon-Strauss and Juria L. Jones (2026).

The   Citizenship Clause and Executive Order 14160

The Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment reads, All persons born or naturalized in the
United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State
wherein they reside. The clause has been interpreted only sparingly by the Supreme Court since the
Fourteenth Amendment's ratification in 1868. In those cases, the Court has interpreted the clause to mean
that every child born in the United States is a citizen at birth, regardless of their parents' alienage.
On  January 20, 2025, President Trump signed E.O. 14160. The E.O. seeks to interpret subject to the
jurisdiction thereof' in the Citizenship Clause to limit who may be considered a U.S. citizen from birth.
The E.O. states: It is the policy of the United States that no department or agency of the United States
government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by
State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to
persons whom  the executive branch believes are not granted citizenship under the Fourteenth
Amendment   solely by being born in the United States.
The E.O. outlines two categories of persons that, in the view of the executive branch, are not subject to
the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore are excluded from the Fourteenth Amendment's grant
of birthright citizenship: (1) a child whose mother was not lawfully present in the United States, and
whose father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, at the moment the child was bom; and
(2) a child whose mother was lawfully but temporarily in the United States, and whose father was not a

                                                                 Congressional Research Service
                                                                   https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                      LSB11423

CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress