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Birthright Citizenship

The Easiest Way to Resolve the Birthright Citizenship Case

The Administration's constitutional arguments are unconvincing, but rejecting them is not necessary to decide United States v. Barbara

Jonathan H. Adler | 4.7.2026 12:11 PM

Last week the Supreme Court heard oral argument in United States v. Barbara, the case challenging the lawfulness of President Trump's anti-birthright-citizenship Executive Order.

I summarize some of my initial thoughts in today's Civitas Outlook column. In that piece, I also explain how the Court can resolve the case without resolving the underlying constitutional questions. Whatever the precise limits the exceptions to birthright citizenship under Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment, it is particularly hard to argue that the EO is consistent with federal law, as it has been understood, applied, and enforced for the past seventy-five years, and even harder to argue that the President, acting unilaterally, can rewrite the law of citizenship by executive........

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