WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has formally asked the Supreme Court to uphold an executive order limiting birthright citizenship, arguing that children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas are not entitled to automatic citizenship.
The Justice Department’s appeal, shared with The Associated Press on Saturday, initiates a process that could result in a ruling by the justices by early summer. Lower courts have so far blocked the policy nationwide, concluding it likely violates the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The administration is not seeking to implement the restrictions before the court rules.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer, writing for the administration, said lower-court rulings “invalidated a policy of prime importance to the president and his administration in a manner that undermines our border security.” He argued that the decisions improperly extend “the privilege of American citizenship” to people who do not qualify.
Civil liberties advocates countered that the order is unconstitutional. “This executive order is illegal, full stop, and no amount of maneuvering from the administration is going to change that,” said Cody Wofsy, an attorney with the ACLU, which represents children who would be affected by the restrictions.
Birthright citizenship, established in the first sentence of the 14th Amendment after the Civil War, guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, with narrow exceptions for children of foreign diplomats or occupying military forces. Courts have long interpreted the amendment to apply regardless of parents’ immigration status.
Trump signed the executive order on the first day of his second term, seeking to overturn more than a century of legal precedent. Every lower court that has reviewed the policy — including the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco and a federal court in New Hampshire — has found it unconstitutional or likely so.
The Supreme Court has previously limited the use of nationwide injunctions, but justices have not yet ruled on the underlying question of whether restricting birthright citizenship would pass constitutional muster. A decision on whether to hear the case is expected in the coming months, with arguments likely in late winter or early spring.
