U.S. Supreme Court justices were skeptical Wednesday of arguments by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to limit birthright citizenship to children of undocumented parents or those with temporary visas, at a hearing attended by the president himself.
The judges insistently questioned both the government lawyers and the lawyers of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), an organization that supports the lawsuit, which calls the executive order with which Trump seeks to implement his controversial policy “unconstitutional”.
Conservative judges question the Executive Order
The court sketches of President Trump sitting in at the Supreme Court today as justices weighed his actions to limit ‘birthright citizenship’.
Trump is the first sitting President to attend proceedings.
He stayed just about an hour and left during the defense’s arguments…. pic.twitter.com/cqlmmzqdbw
– Scott Thuman (@ScottThuman) April 1, 2026
Attorney General John Sauer defended the Trump administration’s position, insisting that times have changed since the adoption in the 19th century of the 14th Amendment, which enshrines the right to citizenship for those born in the country, and that the presidential measure aims to combat so-called “birth tourism” and irregular immigration.
According to the Trump Administration’s argument, this legislation was passed after the Civil War (1861-1865) to protect the “children of slaves” and not for “those taking a vacation to obtain U.S. citizenship.”
“It’s a new world. But the Constitution remains the same,” Chief Justice John Roberts, a centrist conservative, replied to Sauer.
What do the judges say?
BREAKING 🚨 Donald Trump leaves the Supreme Court after John Sauer dropped the 🎤 on Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Sauer is a true Patriot
– MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) April 1, 2026
Other justices in the conservative majority such as Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett also pressed the Administration on the historical interpretation and precedents wielded by Sauer, which the justices believed could work against the Administration’s arguments.
Barrett, considered a swing vote, pointed out that Trump’s proposed caveats to birthright citizenship are not explicitly in the legislation, something seconded by another key conservative, Brett Kavanaugh, who warned that Congress would have modified the language in subsequent legislation if it had identified any anomalies.
The judges also asked incisive questions of ACLU attorney Cecillia Wang, an advocate for the immigrant group that filed the lawsuit, although these appeared to be aimed more at clarifying legal issues than attacking the plaintiffs’ position.
Last June, the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority backed Trump in his request to lift state blocks to his order, but did not rule on its constitutionality.
Legal experts and activists warn that a victory for the Republican would set a dangerous precedent for the protection of constitutional rights.
A historic event: Trump attends the pleadings
BREAKING: President Trump departs the White House on his way to the Supreme Court, where he will be the first president in history to sit and listen to the court’s oral arguments as it weighs the president’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. | @DanaPerino… pic.twitter.com/xN0HPMUQGP
– Fox News (@FoxNews) April 1, 2026
For the first time in U.S. history, a sitting president attended a hearing before the Supreme Court.
Trump arrived ten minutes before the hearing began and left about an hour later, after listening quietly from the front row of the public section, a short distance from Sauer’s lectern.
Also present in the room were Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and renowned actor Robert de Niro, one of the most critical voices against Trump.
Outside, dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the Supreme Court building to protest against the president and his policies.
“We are the only country in the world STUPID enough to allow ‘birthright’ citizenship!” wrote Trump on his Social Truth network after leaving the court.
What is “Childbirth Tourism”? The Government’s argument
BREAKING
Trump just made his first statement after attending the Supreme Court oral arguments regarding birthright citizenship (first time a President ever does this)
“We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow “Birthright” Citizenship!“pic.twitter.com/xWl8l7d3c6
– Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 1, 2026
Limiting automatic citizenship for children of irregular migrants was one of the campaign promises of the Republican leader, who returned to power more than a year ago with an intensified anti-immigration policy.
Trump has also criticized tourism to give birth to children on U.S. soil in order to gain access to dual citizenship.
This Monday, Trump had already lashed out at the “stupid” U.S. judicial system that watches impassively as “the world is getting rich by selling citizenships” of the country.
More than 30 nations, including the U.S., guarantee this right with exceptions for children of diplomats, mostly in Latin America.
In Europe, citizenship is usually conditional on requirements such as at least one parent being a citizen or legal resident, and in the case of Spain the right is only recognized if at least one of the parents was born in the country or when the parents cannot pass on their nationality to the child.
Filed as:
With information from EFE
