Trump Announces Immediate Rehearing Request
US President Donald Trump declared on Wednesday that he will immediately seek a rehearing before the US Supreme Court regarding its recent birthright citizenship ruling. In a post on Truth Social, Trump described the court's decision as a 'miscarriage of justice' that, if unchanged, would 'destroy America.'
Allegations of 'Birth Tourism' Advertising
Trump claimed that signs and billboards are being erected along the US southern border and in Mexico, advertising birthright citizenship with 'deliveries starting at $4000.' He alleged that this practice allows individuals to obtain US citizenship simply by paying for childbirth on American soil, calling it a 'SCAM' that would generate billions of dollars illegally. 'American citizenship is not for sale!' he asserted.
Supreme Court Ruling and Background
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, upheld birthright citizenship under the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling reaffirmed the precedent set in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which grants automatic citizenship to children born in the US to foreign parents, regardless of their parents' immigration status. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated, 'Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community.' He added, 'The Framers of the Fourteenth Amendment extended that promise to every free-born person in this land. We keep that promise today.'
Trump's Criticism and Broader Immigration Agenda
Speaking earlier at the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Trump renewed his criticism of the court's handling of birthright citizenship, while praising other rulings that he said restored presidential authority. He argued that birthright citizenship was originally intended for the babies of slaves, not for 'rich people from other countries.' Trump stated, 'We'll take care of the birthright citizenship because that was not meant for rich people from other countries. It was meant for the babies of slaves.' He added, 'I believe, no, I know they got it wrong, but that's okay.'
The ruling represents a significant setback for Trump, who made ending 'birth tourism' and tightening immigration policies central themes of his second presidential campaign. The administration had argued that the Fourteenth Amendment required parents to be domiciled in the US for their children to claim birthright citizenship, a position rejected by the court.
