President Donald Trump confirmed his plans to attend the Supreme Court hearing on birthright citizenship on Wednesday.
The President declared his intentions during a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, stating, “I’m going.”
Trump reiterated that the original purpose of the birthright citizenship was to protect the children of slaves post-Civil War, not to confer citizenship to children of affluent foreigners. He voiced his criticism of the legal handling of birthright citizenship over the years, describing it as “the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.”
When asked who he would pay close attention to during the hearing, Trump characterized the court as largely partisan, divided between justices appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents. “I love a few of them,” he admitted, “I don’t like some others.”
Trump’s decision to attend the hearing marks the first time a sitting president will be present at oral arguments in the Supreme Court. Some presidents have engaged with the court, but not while in office. Richard Nixon argued a case before becoming president, and William Howard Taft later served as chief justice after his presidency.
Lower Court Blocks Trump’s Order
Birthright citizenship grants automatic citizenship by birth, either by location (jus soli) or ancestry (jus sanguinis). In the U.S., it mainly follows jus soli, giving citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil regardless of parents’ status, while also recognizing citizenship by descent.
Trump’s executive order, signed on January 20, 2025, to end birthright citizenship stated that children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporary-status parents are not citizens, reversing the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The order also mandates that at least one parent be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) for the U.S.-born child to get American citizenship. It is a part of the president’s broader immigration crackdown.
His order was previously blocked by a federal appeals court in October. The court ruled that his order violated the Constitution and centuries of legal precedent.
Earlier, in August 2025, a second federal appeals court showed signs of declaring Trump’s order as unconstitutional. A three-judge panel from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals expressed skepticism about the order.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.
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