Birthright Citizenship

Summary: Barbara v. Trump

For over 150 years, that answer has been clear: If you’re born in the United States, you are a U.S. citizen. Since the Supreme Court’s landmark birthright citizenship decision in Wong Kim Ark in 1898, courts across America have upheld the ruling.

Now, for the first time in over a century, the Supreme Court will directly rule on the constitutional merits of birthright citizenship.

On Inauguration Day, President Trump signed an executive order to deny birthright citizenship to certain U.S.-born children.

The attack on the fundamental right of birthright citizenship is an attack on the 14th Amendment and our Constitution. We are confident the court will affirm this basic right, which has stood for over a century. Millions of families across the country deserve and require that clarity and stability.”

Tianna Mays

Legal Director, Democracy Defenders Fund

Democracy Defenders Fund, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, and Asian Law Caucus filed the lawsuit challenging the order, beginning a series of emergency court filings, a Supreme Court showdown, and a historic class-action lawsuit.

Federal courts repeatedly blocked the administration from implementing the executive order, finding that it violates the Constitution, over a century of Supreme Court precedent and longstanding federal statute. 

The Court agreed to hear oral arguments on three cases challenging the executive order, including a suit brought by immigrant-rights organizations CASA and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project. CASA v. Trump started as a challenge to Trump’s executive order denying birthright citizenship to certain children born in the United States. But when it reached the Supreme Court, the case rested on the power of federal courts. 

In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that federal judges cannot issue nationwide injunctions protecting everyone—not just specific plaintiffs—but sidestepped the constitutional question about birthright citizenship. 

SCOTUS left the larger question for a new, class-action lawsuit. 

Democracy Defenders Fund, ACLU, Legal Defense Fund, and Asian Law Caucus quickly filed Barbara v. Trump on behalf of a proposed class of babies and their parents.

Barbara is a Honduran woman who fled to the United States, was granted parole and is awaiting asylum. She was pregnant when Trump signed the executive order, meaning her U.S.-born child would have been denied citizenship if the order had gone into effect. Barbara joined the lawsuit using a pseudonym because she feared for her and her family’s safety. She is the “face” of the class suing the Trump administration and standing up bravely to represent 250,000 babies born every year to parents who are neither citizens or permanent residents. 

Are children of undocumented immigrants or temporary residents “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States? For the first time in over a century, the Supreme Court will directly rule on the constitutional merits of birthright citizenship.

Timeline

This timeline traces Democracy Defenders Fund’s role in the fight to protect the rights of babies born in the United States and halt an unconstitutional executive order through emergency court filings, a U.S. Supreme Court showdown, and a historic class-action lawsuit. The battle is still unfolding.

File Downloads