WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to uphold its controversial order regarding birthright citizenship, which asserts that children born to parents who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not entitled to American citizenship.
The petition was shared with the Associated Press, indicating the administration is determined to pursue this legal avenue despite earlier rulings against it by lower courts. This move could culminate in a high-stakes decision from the justices by early summer regarding the constitutionality of these citizenship restrictions.
As it stands, judges from lower courts have blocked the enforcement of Trump's order, preventing it from taking effect until a definitive ruling is made. The administration has opted not to request that the restrictions be enforced pending the Court's decision.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer emphasized the importance of the citizenship policy, arguing that lower courts have undermined national security by blocking it. “Those decisions confer, without lawful justification, the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people,” he stated.
This appeal aims to clarify whether children born on American soil to undocumented parents can be considered citizens, a right long enshrined in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, except for children of diplomats or foreign occupying forces.
Cody Wofsy, representing affected children through the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argues that the order is blatantly unconstitutional and that the fight against it will persist. He insists, no baby’s citizenship is ever stripped away by this cruel and senseless order.”
Lower courts have consistently sided with critics of the order, signaling that it likely violates the 14th Amendment, and have ruled it unconstitutional in various cases.
With the administration appealing two separate cases, the legal landscape continues to evolve as arguments are expected to be heard in late winter or spring. The implications of this ruling could reshape the understanding of citizenship in the United States amidst an ongoing national debate over immigration policies.
