For more than a century, a US birth certificate has been the key to unlocking the benefits of US citizenship.
Most parents of newborns on U.S. soil simply need proof of birth from a hospital to apply for Social Security numbers, passports, and early life benefits for their children. In adulthood, the birth certificate is universally recognized as proof of citizenship for voter registration, employment, home loans, and military service.
The US Supreme Court building on March 31, 2026 in Washington, DC.
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A landmark case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday will determine whether this longstanding cultural norm and legal precedent will continue, or whether sweeping bureaucratic changes that could affect millions will soon take effect.
President Donald Trump is asking judges to uphold his executive order on Day One eliminating birthright citizenship under a new interpretation of the 14th Amendment and requiring parents to prove their legal status before granting citizenship to their children.
All lower courts that heard the case overturned the order.
the amendmentThe law, ratified in 1868, states that all “persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” are citizens. Congress later codified the same language into federal citizenship law in 1940.
“Look at the dates on this long-ago legislation — the exact end of the Civil War!” Trump posted on social media on Monday. “It’s about slave children!”
Trump says children born to parents who are not US citizens or lawful permanent residents have never been considered “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States because they still owe political “allegiance” to a foreign country.
However, the courts and government have repeatedly interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to grant citizenship unambiguously to all children born on U.S. soil, including children of unauthorized noncitizens and temporary residents, such as international students and foreign nationals who are in the United States on tourist visas. And seasonal workers.
“the [14th] “The amendment includes, in plain words and clear intent, the children born, within the territory of the United States, of all other persons, of any race or color, and residing within the United States,” Justice Horace Gray wrote in his decision. 1898 Supreme Court opinion Addressing the situation of children born to non-citizens.
Immigrant advocates and civil liberties groups insist Trump’s order is blatantly unconstitutional — contrary to the plain letter of the Constitution and the history of the Naturalization Clause — and will unleash nationwide “chaos.”
Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route from West Palm Beach, Florida, to Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, March 29, 2026.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
“The effects on this country would be catastrophic,” said Cody Wofsey, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which is leading the case against the order.
“More straightforward is that children who will be stripped of their citizenship will be vulnerable to arrest, detention and deportation from the only country they have ever known,” Wovesi said.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, an estimated 255,000 children born each year on US soil to non-citizen parents could lose their legal status under Trump’s order. Some may have difficulty obtaining citizenship in any country, effectively being born “stateless.”
“children [born to parents] “From countries like Nepal, Afghanistan and Bhutan, where there is no clear path to citizenship in their home countries,” said Anissa Ram, South Asia legal director for the American Justice Collaborative. “So where do they belong?”
While the administration insists the order will only apply to children born after it takes effect, legal scholars have warned that a ruling that revokes birthright citizenship could have retroactive consequences.
“The citizenship of other Americans could be in question,” said Winnie Kao, an attorney with the Asian Law Caucus, one of the groups that filed a class-action lawsuit against the administration over the matter.
“Large parts of American law will need to be reconsidered because they are built on birthright citizenship,” Kao added. “It would also be a complete administrative and bureaucratic nightmare for everyone — even for parents who are US citizens.”
Close-up photograph gallery of the USA flag.
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An ABC News review of the Trump administration’s plans to implement the new citizenship policy across federal agencies suggests a more complex and potentially complex process for new parents than currently exists, if the executive order goes into effect.
The Social Security Administration says birth certificates will not be sufficient documentation to obtain a new Social Security number for a newborn.
“The Social Security Administration (SSA) will request proof that the person’s mother and/or father was a U.S. citizen or in eligible immigration status at the time of the person’s birth,” the agency wrote in July 2025. Guidance note.
The agency said parents will first need to submit their citizenship documents by mail, phone or online. Alternatively, parents can submit a “self-certification” of citizenship subject to “state and federal penalties for perjury,” according to the memo.
The State Department says it will do so Similar adoption Verification measures for passport applicants.
For children born to legal but temporary immigrants—who will no longer be eligible for citizenship—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services He says Parents will need to register for the same temporary legal status for their children.
Federally funded benefits for children, such as food assistance and health care services, provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, will also require extensive documentation from all parents to prove their children are citizens at birth, the agency said. In a note.
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh stands during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on April 23, 2021.
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During oral arguments last year in a previous case involving Trump’s birthright citizenship order, Justice Brett Kavanaugh — often a key vote in hotly contested cases — expressed concern about whether the government would be able to conduct citizenship checks on the parents of more than 3.6 million children born in the United States each year.
“Federal officials are basically going to have to figure this out,” U.S. Attorney John Sawyer told Justice during questioning.
“how?” Kavanaugh responded skeptically.
“So, you can imagine a number of ways–” Sawyer began.
“like?” Kavanaugh scoffed. “For all the newborns? Is it going to work this way?”
Sawyer responded at the time that the administration did not have all the details because the courts had blocked the executive order entirely.
Polls show the nation is sharply divided on the issue of U.S. citizenship for newborns of illegal immigrants. Half of adults – 50% – say they should obtain US citizenship. 49% say they should not, according to Pew Research Center survey conducted in April 2025.
