WASHINGTON — In a rare and symbolic moment in American legal history, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to appear personally before the Supreme Court today as it begins hearings on one of the nation’s most fundamental questions: who deserves to be called an American citizen, according to ORF News.
The issue at stake reaches to the heart of America’s identity, the right to citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. This principle, known as “birthright citizenship,” has stood since 1868, enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. For more than 150 years, it has defined the United States as a land of opportunity and belonging.
But President Trump has set his sights on changing that. Early in his second term, he signed an executive order seeking to deny automatic citizenship to children born in the country to parents who are in the United States temporarily or without legal permission. That order was immediately challenged in court and remains blocked by lower court injunctions. Today, the final word rests with the nine justices of the Supreme Court.
According to his official schedule, Trump arrived at the Supreme Court at 10 a.m. local time (4 p.m. CET). Reports in U.S. media noted that it was the first time in modern history that a sitting president had attended a Supreme Court oral argument. His next appointment at 12:30 p.m. back at the White House indicated that he only witnessed part of the proceeding.
Civil rights organizations, which brought the case to the court, call Trump’s order unconstitutional and warn it undermines America’s founding promises. “Birthright citizenship is not just law, it’s identity,” one activist said. “It tells every child born here that they belong.”
Supporters of Trump’s policy argue that automatic citizenship encourages illegal immigration and needs to be reexamined for a modern era. The debate fierce, emotional, and deeply political, could reshape immigration law and the nation’s sense of itself.
The Supreme Court’s ruling, expected by early summer, may set the tone for America’s future and decide whether the words of the 14th Amendment still hold the same promise they did 158 years ago.
