In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court’s major birthright citizenship case, President Donald Trump blasted the nation’s highest court while predicting it may rule against his effort to restrict automatic citizenship for some children born in the U.S.
“This decision by the Supreme Court is a very big one. They’ll probably rule against me because they seem to like doing that,” said Trump in May. “You know, frankly, I’m not happy with some of the decisions.”
Trump v. Barbara centers on Trump’s January 2025 executive order seeking to limit automatic citizenship for some children born in the U.S., a move that has triggered a major constitutional fight. The decision is expected today, the final opinion day of the Supreme Court’s term, placing Trump’s prediction in the spotlight as the justices prepare to hand down one of the year’s most closely watched rulings.
Trump sat in on oral arguments in April as Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson questioned whether the president’s executive order complies with the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. The visit marked the first known time a sitting president attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court.
Barrett warned at the time that investigating citizenship would create chaos, while Jackson asked, “Are we bringing pregnant women in for depositions?”
Trump predicted in May that the court would rule against him, noting he was “not happy” with recent rulings, pointing to the recent tariff decision he said will cost the U.S. $149 billion. This month, he warned the nation “cannot live with the shackles of Birthright Citizenship.”
“It is not economically, or otherwise, sustainable, and no other country in the World, of consequence, does it,” Trump posted on Truth Social on June 11.
The administration has argued that birthright citizenship has created incentives for illegal immigration and has been exploited by so-called “birth tourism” operations, in which foreign nationals travel to the U.S. to give birth so their children can obtain American citizenship.
“This was not meant for Chinese billionaires to have their children become citizens of our country. This was not meant, or other rich people, poor people. This was meant for the babies of slaves,” said Trump.
“This was signed… right after the Civil War. You look at the dates, the dates alone, immediately after, this was having to do with the babies of slaves, and people have used it. And if this is allowed to stand, it will be a disaster economically for our country,” he added.
The nation’s highest court is expected to rule on the executive order in the coming weeks.
The case has drawn national attention, with protesters arguing that birthright citizenship is a fundamental American right.
University of California, Berkeley, law professor John Yoo previously told Fox News Digital he believes the Supreme Court will overrule the Trump birthright order.
“The better way to operate under the current constitutional rule of birthright citizenship is to more vigorously enforce visas and to shut down businesses that encourage and enable birth tourism,” said Yoo.
A Fox News Poll found that 69% of voters support birthright citizenship for children born in the United States to illegal immigrants — which is up from 45%, when Fox News first asked in 2006.