Trump admin asks Supreme Court to review birthright citizenship order

The Trump administration on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review President Donald Trump’s executive order that would end automatic citizenship for nearly all children born on American soil, escalating a legal fight that has blocked the policy from taking effect. In filings submitted by Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the government asked the high court to consider appeals from a federal appeals court ruling and a New Hampshire district court injunction that found the order likely violates the Constitution.

Signed on January 20, the executive order directs federal agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the United States if neither parent is a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident. The administration says the order would apply to births after February 19, 2025. Sauer wrote in the petitions that the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment is mistaken and has had destructive consequences, arguing that lower court decisions have "undermined our border security" and improperly conferred "the privilege of American citizenship on hundreds of thousands of unqualified people."

The filings seek review of a July 23 ruling by a three-judge panel of the...