Can Trump Still End Birthright Citizenship? Here is What Options Remain
The deadline for President Trump to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its birthright citizenship ruling quietly passed this week, with no filing submitted despite his public vow to act “immediately.” The more important question isn’t whether he missed the deadline, it’s whether he has any path left at all.
Why a rehearing was always a long shot. Even if Trump had filed, the Supreme Court is yet to grant a rehearing on an argued case since 1965. It would have taken at least one justice from the 5-4 majority to change their position entirely.
The ruling itself was narrower than people think. The Supreme Court didn’t just block Trump’s executive order, five justices held that the 14th Amendment’s Citizenship Clause guarantees citizenship to nearly all children born on US soil, irrespective of their parents’ immigration status. Chief Justice Roberts wrote that such children “are citizens at birth” under the Constitution.
Justice Kavanaugh’s hinted Congress could pass a law carving out exceptions, and Trump has pointed to this as a “side door.” But constitutional law experts are skeptical, noting the same five-justice majority already ruled the citizenship guarantee comes directly from the Constitution, meaning ordinary legislation can’t override it.
So what’s Trump actually likely to do instead? Some experts suggested that the administration will likely shift focus toward tightening visa enforcement and cracking down on “birth tourism,” rather than pursuing the broader fight to redefine citizenship itself, since that legal door appears to be closing fast.
