Live Coverage: Birthright Citizenship SCOTUS Decision

"This is a day of celebration for the efforts of hundreds of thousands of American families who would have been harmed by Trump's executive order," said ACLU National Legal Director Cecillia Wang, who argued the case at the Supreme Court. "This decision reaffirms one of the fundamental pillars of American life – that all of us who are born on American soil are citizens alike."

President Trump bet his legacy trying to secure this policy win — even attending the argument in person — and he lost: "President Trump was attacking this fundamental notion – hard won through a civil war, through the efforts of free black Americans – to win equal citizenship rights for everyone born on American soil. "

"That's a fundamental part of what it means to be American: that we all are treated equally under the law, and that we're all citizens when we're born here. "

President Trump just suffered a stunning loss on a signature order he signed on day one of his presidency. He attempted to rewrite the Constitution — and we stopped him.

Today's decision in Trump v. Barbara is a major victory for immigrant families across the country and a clear rejection of President Trump's attempt to redefine who is a citizen in the United States.

Read more about our fight to protect birthright citizenship.

Justice Jackson is right. This is thankfully the end of the road for President Trump and his allies' unconstitutional attempt to rewrite the 14th Amendment.

The Supreme Court struck down President Trump's executive order attempting to overturn birthright citizenship.

This historic decision reaffirms that the Constitution — not the president — defines who gets to be a citizen. The court closed the door on President Trump's attempt to undermine the 14th Amendment and preserved the very fabric of this nation.

We're honored that the one and only Bruce Springsteen trusted us with use of his iconic anthem ahead of our landmark Supreme Court win, Trump v. Barbara.

We're outside the Supreme Court celebrating today's historic victory protecting birthright citizenship.

The Supreme Court just closed the door on President Trump's day one attempt to end birthright citizenship.

The Supreme Court struck down President Trump's executive order attempting to overturn birthright citizenship.

This historic decision reaffirms that the Constitution — not the president — defines who gets to be a citizen.

Millions of Americans believe in the promise of the 14th Amendment: If you are born here, you are a citizen. With this decision, the court closed the door on President Trump's attempt to undermine the 14th Amendment and preserved the very fabric of this nation.

Babies and families across the U.S. will be spared from further chaos and cruelty.

Thank you to the ACLU community who came to the Supreme Court today to defend birthright citizenship.

You still have time to add your name to our petition to defend birthright citizenship while we wait for a decision from the Supreme Court. And make sure you subscribe to our email list so we can keep you updated about the latest updates in all of our cases before the Supreme Court this term.

Let's be the America that believes in longer tables, not higher walls.

Hundreds rallied outside the Supreme Court today in defense of birthright citizenship.

The Constitution, not the President, defines who is a citizen. And we aren't allowing President Trump's abuse of power to go unanswered.

The president needed a reminder of what the Constitution says — we gave it to him.

Right after delivering oral arguments to the Supreme Court in defense of birthright citizenship, our National Legal Director Cecillia Wang reflected on this case and what it means to be a child of immigrants.

We're honored that the one and only Bruce Springsteen trusted us with the use of his iconic anthem ahead of our landmark Supreme Court case defending birthright citizenship.

Join us to protect the right to citizenship for babies born across the nation at ACLU.org/BornInUSA

"The guarantee of citizenship is the fundamental American promise. If you're born here, you belong here. And if you feel that you belong here, you are more motivated to contribute to our shared culture here. I struggle to see how tearing this rich tapestry apart would benefit Americans in any way."

Read Padma Lakshmi's full New York Times op-ed about the power and promise of birthright citizenship >>

School is in session at the Supreme Court.

We went to the highest court in the land to remind President Trump that he doesn't have the power to unilaterally change the Constitution.

Our National Legal Director Cecillia Wang argued our defense of birthright citizenship before the Supreme Court.

Cecillia is a daughter of immigrants and has dedicated her career to fighting for our civil liberties.

We're honored to have her at the helm as we defend immigrant families with everything we’ve got.

"The consequences of ending birthright citizenship do not only fall on immigrants — under [President Trump's] policy, all Americans will find it more difficult to claim the rights of citizenship."

Jacob Hamburger, a law professor at Marquette University, explores what would need to be done to implement President Trump's executive order to dismantle birthright citizenship. And it's not just immigrant families who would suffer under this policy.

Many babies would fall through the cracks, even babies born to American citizens who never thought they would be harmed by President Trump's executive order.

Read more >>

"Ask any American what our citizenship rule is and they'll tell you: Everyone born here is a citizen alike."

Listen to our National Legal Director Cecillia Wang's full opening remarks during oral arguments for Trump v. Barbara at the Supreme Court this morning.

President Trump doesn't have the power to override the 14th Amendment.

Watch our latest episode of Making Sense where ACLU President Deborah Archer breaks down our Supreme Court case defending birthright citizenship.

Over 315,000 people signed our petition in defense of birthright citizenship — and we brought your names with us to D.C.

Thank you for adding your name to safeguard citizenship for all babies born in the U.S.

"The America President Trump is working to create — one where a child's citizenship is dictated by their parents' immigration status, not where they are born and raised—could compound this chaos. Revoking birthright citizenship would invite even more discriminatory assumptions about who is—and isn’t — 'really' American."

ACLU President Deborah Archer warns that our nation's history offers a chilling preview of what would happen if the Supreme Court fails to defend birthright citizenship — and three recent ACLU plaintiffs highlight those dangers.

One ACLU plaintiff stopped by ICE in Minnesota repeatedly told them, "I’m a citizen. I’m a citizen." DHS agents told him "that don't matter," refused to look at his proof of citizenship, and drove him to an ICE building in south Minneapolis. Agents grabbed another witness in the lawsuit out of his car at a gas station, handcuffed him, and when he said, "I'm an American citizen," replied to him, "Why don't you go back to your country?" And in Florida, the ACLU recently represented a man named Peter Sean Brown – a Black, natural-born U.S. citizen – who was unlawfully detained and nearly deported as a result of ICE's collaboration with a Florida sheriff.

History tells us that all people of color would face worse treatment, even those born on U.S. soil.

Read more >>

As our National Legal Director Cecillia Wang begins her arguments to the Supreme Court, learn more about our clients in this case.

We're rallying outside the Supreme Court with our co-counsel, our partners at We Are CASA, and hundreds of supporters to protect birthright citizenship. Watch live.

Birthright citizenship was a principle the United States, at its founding, inherited from England.

The 14th Amendment and its Citizenship Clause secured this right in the Constitution in 1868, and in 1898, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Constitution protects birthright citizenship for children born in the United States no matter what their parents' citizenship or immigration status is.

Learn more about the history of birthright citizenship:

"President Trump wants to create a nation divided by parentage; one where children can be born in this country, live their whole lives here, and yet be completely excluded from all the rights and duties of full membership in our society.

That is not the America we know and love. In our America, every child born here is an equal citizen. And that is ultimately what the Barbara case is all about."

Cody Wofsy, Deputy Director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project and lead counsel on Trump v. Barbara, outlines the full history of birthright citizenship in the United States and asks whether we'll adhere to the best of American history — or turn the clock back to exclusion and division.

Read more >>

Oral arguments have started in Trump v. Barbara. Listen now as the ACLU's National Legal Director, Cecillia Wang, presents our case to the Supreme Court.

We're heading into the Supreme Court soon to argue on behalf of every child born in the United States

President Trump wants to strip away the right to birthright citizenship – the core principle that children born in America are citizens of America, with very limited exceptions. He wants to overturn over a century of Supreme Court precedent, law, and our very Constitution. He thinks that he alone can redefine who belongs in this country and what it means to be American. He's wrong.

Our ACLU community has shown up en masse to support the Constitution – from the over 315,000 people who signed our petition and whose names we're displaying in D.C. with us, to the hundreds rallying outside the Supreme Court right now to cheer our legal team on.

As we head into the court, we'll be thinking about supporters like you — and the thousands of families and children we're fighting for.

Together, we'll defend this American promise.

Hi everyone, I'm Anthony D. Romero, the Executive Director of the ACLU. Yesterday, President Trump announced his plan to attend today's Supreme Court arguments in Trump v. Barbara, the nationwide class action brought by the ACLU and our partners on behalf of children who would be denied citizenship under Trump's executive order.

If President Trump wishes to come to the Supreme Court to watch the ACLU school him in the meaning of the Constitution and birthright citizenship, we will be glad to sit alongside of him in that very court.

Any effort to distract from the gravity and importance of this case will not succeed. The Supreme Court is up to the task of interpreting and defending the Constitution even under the glare of a sitting president a couple dozen feet away from them.

This is one of the most important cases in the last hundred years. The outcome of this case will very well decide the rights and liberties of over 200,000 children born to immigrant parents each year.

The 14th Amendment guarantees that children born in the United States are citizens. Period.

"I would like my baby to grow up in the country where he was born, experiencing the good the U.S. has to offer. But right now, I can barely see those good things anymore."

Families targeted by President Trump's cruel executive order targeting birthright citizenship are worried about what the future holds for their children.

Right now, their children are protected from the order, and there is no reason for families to fear. But the fight is not over — and today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case that will decide their future.

Read the stories of the families who have been targeted by President Trump's attack on birthright citizenship >>

Good morning everyone, and thanks for joining us. The ACLU and our co-counsel — the ACLU's of New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts, the Legal Defense Fund, Asian Law Caucus, and Democracy Defenders Fund — are at the Supreme Court today for oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, where we're defending birthright citizenship. And our very own National Legal Director, Cecillia Wang, will be arguing the case.

On the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to dismantle the right to birthright citizenship for nearly all children born in the U.S., even though the 14th Amendment guarantees that right. Within hours, the ACLU and our partners sued to block that cruel action. Federal courts have since repeatedly blocked the administration from implementing the executive order, finding it violates the Constitution, over a century of Supreme Court precedent, and a longstanding federal statute.

Ending birthright citizenship would upend the law and the lives of hundreds of thousands of families by creating a permanent subclass of people born in the United States who are denied their rights as American citizens.

The Constitution, not the President, defines who is a citizen.

You can read more about Trump v. Barbara here. Refresh this page throughout the day to see more live updates.