Trump Asks Justices to Decide If He Can End Birthright Citizenship: CNN

President Donald Trump's administration asked the Supreme Court on Friday to review the constitutionality of Trump's executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, CNN reported.

Trump's executive order, which he issued on his first day back in office on Jan. 20, directs agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or a lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder.

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, declares that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Historians note it was designed to guarantee citizenship to formerly enslaved people after the Civil War and to overturn the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, which denied citizenship to Black Americans.

The Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), ruling that a child born in San Francisco to Chinese parents was a U.S. citizen by virtue of birth on American soil. The National Constitution Center describes that decision as the foundation of modern birthright citizenship law.

Trump has long argued that the provision has been misapplied, particularly in cases involving undocumented immigrants. Legal experts say no administration or Congress has ever successfully narrowed the 14th Amendment’s guarantee, leaving the issue firmly in constitutional territory.

Trump has argued that birthright citizenship creates a “magnet” for illegal immigration and fuels so-called “birth tourism,” where noncitizens travel to the United States to give birth so their children gain automatic citizenship, according to ABC News. His administration maintains that the 14th Amendment’s phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” should not apply to the children of people who are in the country illegally or only temporarily, an interpretation outlined by PBS NewsHour.

According to the Congressional Research Service, any reversal would mark a dramatic departure from established precedent.

Newsmax contributed to this report.