The US Supreme Court has thrown the future of birthright citizenship into uncertainty, lifting temporary blocks on President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order that challenges the long-standing legal precedent. While the Court didn’t rule on the constitutionality of the order, it allowed it to take effect pending further review by lower courts.
The order, issued on Trump’s first day back in office, directs federal agencies to stop recognising citizenship for children born in the US to parents who are undocumented or in the country temporarily. Several judges initially halted the policy, but the latest Supreme Court move could pave the way for its implementation, raising questions about the future of the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship for all born on U.S. soil.
If Trump’s policy had been in place earlier, several well-known Americans might not have been citizens at birth. Here are a few prominent figures whose status could have been different:
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was born to Cuban immigrants who didn’t become U.S. citizens until 1975, years after his birth. Rubio has publicly opposed repealing birthright citizenship.
Melania and Barron Trump
Melania Trump, born in Slovenia (then Yugoslavia), became a U.S. citizen in 2006. Her son Barron, born in the U.S., would face questions under Trump’s new standard if she had not been a citizen at the time.
Diane Guerrero
The Orange Is the New Black actress was born to undocumented Colombian parents who were deported when she was 14. Guerrero has been a vocal advocate for immigrant rights.
Nikki Haley
Born in South Carolina to Indian immigrants who were not naturalized at the time, Haley’s U.S. citizenship rests on birthright principles. She has said her parents were in the country legally but hadn’t yet become citizens.
Bruce Lee
The martial arts legend was born in San Francisco while his parents, part of a traveling Chinese opera, were temporarily in the U.S. Birthright citizenship allowed Lee to return to America at age 18 and launch his global film career.
Kamala Harris
Trump’s order may have directly targeted his 2024 presidential rival Kamala Harris. Harris was born in California to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, both reportedly on temporary visas. Under Trump’s new definition, she might not have qualified as a citizen at birth.
Vivek Ramaswamy
The former GOP presidential candidate and tech entrepreneur has said his father never became a U.S. citizen and that his mother naturalized only after his birth. Despite this, Ramaswamy has echoed Trump’s call to end birthright citizenship.