Trump blasts Supreme Court ruling on Truth Social, calls birthright citizenship 'great misfortune'

Says constitutional amendment unnecessary, pledges full support for legislative push

Republican lawmakers have already introduced bills to restrict automatic citizenship

Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday after signing an executive order related to vehicle repairs. [EPA]
Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Tuesday after signing an executive order related to vehicle repairs. [EPA]

Donald Trump said he will press ahead with restricting birthright citizenship through congressional legislation, defying a Supreme Court ruling that blocked his executive order on the issue.

Trump posted on his Truth Social platform Tuesday that the Supreme Court's decision to uphold birthright citizenship was "a great misfortune for our country," and called on Congress to "start working today to end costly and unfair birthright citizenship."

He added that "a long and cumbersome constitutional amendment is not necessary" and that Congress would have "my complete and total support."

Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 last year — his first day back in office — directing that children born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas would no longer automatically receive citizenship.

Democratic state governments and civil liberties groups challenged the order in court. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that it violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to all persons born on US soil, and struck it down.

Shortly before the ruling, Trump had already signaled his intent to pursue a legislative route, sharing on Truth Social an article headlined "Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship can succeed regardless of the Supreme Court."

The legislative approach he has in mind would not directly amend the 14th Amendment but instead modify immigration and nationality law to narrow the scope of automatic citizenship by birth.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Brian Babin have already introduced bills to that effect, proposing to restrict automatic citizenship based on the immigration status of a child's parents.

Legal experts say the 14th Amendment explicitly grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, meaning any such law passed by Congress would likely face fresh constitutional challenges.

Ending birthright citizenship has been one of Trump's central campaign pledges in his drive to curb illegal immigration. While the Supreme Court ruling has blocked the executive order route, Trump has made clear he intends to pursue the policy through Congress.


sjy@heraldcorp.com