President Donald Trump announced on July 8, 2026 that he will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear the case in which it struck down his executive order restricting birthright citizenship. Legal experts widely describe the move as a long shot, noting the Court has not agreed to rehear an already-argued case since 1965.
The request targets the Court’s June 30, 2026 decision, in which a 6-3 majority held that nearly all children born in the United States are automatically citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented.
The administration may be looking for an opening in a concurrence by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who sided with the majority but framed the issue narrowly — suggesting that any limits on birthright citizenship should come from Congress through legislation rather than from a presidential executive order. That reasoning, however, cuts against the executive-action approach at the heart of Trump’s original order.
Procedurally, the odds are steep. Petitions for rehearing at the Supreme Court are rarely granted, and the Court has not reversed a decision in an argued case in decades. Barring an extraordinary outcome, the June 30 ruling upholding birthright citizenship is expected to remain controlling law.
For immigrant families, the practical takeaway is reassurance: as it stands, children born on U.S. soil remain U.S. citizens by birth, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Prospective parents on temporary visas or without status do not need to take any special action based on the rehearing request. Still, the announcement signals that the administration intends to keep pressing the issue, and future legislative efforts in Congress remain possible.
Applicants and families should rely on the current constitutional standard and consult a qualified immigration attorney before making decisions based on proposed or contested policy changes rather than settled law.
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