The United States Supreme Court has reaffirmed the constitutional principle of birthright citizenship, ensuring that every child born on American soil—including children born to Pakistani parents—will continue to automatically receive US citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment.
The landmark ruling rejects an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, which sought to deny citizenship to children born in the United States if their parents were undocumented immigrants or were temporarily residing in the country. The Court ruled that such children remain “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States and are therefore entitled to citizenship at birth.
The majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John Roberts and supported by Justice Amy Coney Barrett along with the Court’s three liberal justices—Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Brett Kavanaugh also agreed that the executive order could not stand, although he based his reasoning on federal law rather than the Constitution. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
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The decision preserves one of the oldest constitutional protections in American law. Ratified in 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
For Pakistani families living in the United States, the ruling provides legal certainty that children born in the country will continue to receive US citizenship automatically. The judgment also applies equally to all other nationalities and is not limited to Pakistanis.
The ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for immigration policy and constitutional law in the United States. Had the executive order been upheld, thousands of babies born each month to undocumented immigrants or temporary visa holders could have been denied citizenship. Following the decision, President Trump criticized the ruling and urged Congress to pursue legislation aimed at ending birthright citizenship, signaling that the debate over the issue is likely to continue.
