Trump admin misses deadline for SCOTUS birthright case

The Trump administration’s effort to end birthright citizenship appears to have concluded after the legal deadline to ask the Supreme Court for a rehearing passed without action. The deadline, July 27, came and went with no petition filed by the government, signaling the end of a major legal challenge to a long-held constitutional interpretation.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 20, 2025, aiming to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born on American soil to parents who are in the country illegally or only temporarily. The order was swiftly blocked by lower courts and ultimately struck down by the Supreme Court on June 30, 2026, in a 6-3 decision. The majority, led by Chief Justice John Roberts, held that the order violated the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurred in the judgment but based his reasoning on a violation of federal law, noting that Congress has the power to change birthright citizenship statutes but had not done so. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented, arguing...