Originally Posted: 7/3/2025 | Last Updated: 7/25/2025 

This is an evolving issue with frequent updates due to ongoing litigation. We provide a timeline of events along with a summary of the practical impact as things stand currently and what to expect going forward as the situation unfolds. 

• On January 20, 2025, the Trump Administration issued Executive Order (“EO”) 14160 ending birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is a mainstay of the U.S. Constitution, conferring citizenship automatically to those born in the United States. Trump’s executive order seeks to change this by denying citizenship to people born in the United States if their parents are in the country illegally or temporarily at the time of birth (see Potential Impact of EO 14160 below for more detail). 

• In February 2025, a federal judge barred its enforcement of EO 14160, writing that it was “blatantly unconstitutional” according to the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. Other lawsuits were filed with similar outcomes, resulting in a nationwide injunction against the Order. Following those actions, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to block universal injunctions altogether. 

• On June 27, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling limiting the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions on executive orders and broad national policies. The Supreme Court did not rule on the issue of birthright citizenship, thus allowing the Trump Administration to move forward with EO 14160, changing the effective date of the Order to July 27, 2025. Within hours of the Supreme Court ruling, the ACLU and other groups filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire seeking to protect children in states that would no longer be protected due to the Supreme Court limiting the scope of nationwide injunctions. 

• On July 10, 2025, Judge Joseph Laplante of the U.S. District Court of New Hampshire certified a nationwide class of children born in the U.S. and issued a preliminary injunction blocking EO 14160 while litigation continues.  Judge Joseph Laplante’s decision stops the Order ending birthright citizenship from taking effect on July 27th in New Hampshire and other states that don’t currently have injunctions. The Trump Administration had until July 17th to appeal but no action was taken during that period. The injunction is therefore in effect as of July 18^th while litigation continues. 

• On July 23, 2025, in a separate proceeding, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California ruled that Order seeking to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional, affirming and upholding a lower-court decision that blocked its enforcement nationwide. This is the first time an appeals court has ruled on the issue, which brings it another step closer to landing back with the U.S. Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of EO 14160 according to the citizenship clause of the 14^th Amendment. 

Potential Impact of EO 14160: 

As noted above, the Executive Order ending birthright citizenship is currently blocked from taking effect, but this could change as litigation continues. If EO 14160 is ever allowed to take effect, individuals born in the U.S. will not be automatically entitled to U.S. citizenship (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a U.S. citizen or LPR at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary (such as, but not limited to, visiting the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program or on a student, work, or tourist visa) and the person’s father was not a U.S. citizen or LPR at the time of said person’s birth. (90 FR 8449, 1/29/25). 

The Implementation Plan, published by USCIS on July 25, 2025, answers some questions regarding the potential impact of EO 14160, including what is meant by “unlawfully present” and presence that is “lawful but temporary”, and how children born in the U.S. to parents in those categories would be treated if the Executive Order ending birthright citizenship is ever allowed to take effect. Regarding parents in “lawful but temporary status” (including mothers on student, work, or tourist visas where the father is not a U.S. citizen or LPR at time of birth), the Implementation Plan states that, “DHS and USCIS will propose appropriate action to ensure that birth in the United States to individuals who possess lawful immigration status does not result in any negative immigration consequence for the child”, indicating that children born under those circumstances will be permitted to register to acquire any lawful status that at least one parent possesses. 

What to expect going forward:

As the Supreme Court ruling on June 27, 2025 did not address the constitutionality of the Executive Order seeking to end birthright citizenship, litigation on the merits of this issue is expected to continue.  

Legal standing for birthright citizenship in the U.S. comes from the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” While multiple lower courts have found EO 14160 to be unconstitutional on this basis, the issue is likely to end up back with the U.S. Supreme Court to rule on the merits. 

For now, EO 14160 remains blocked, allowing U.S. citizenship to continue being conferred automatically to children born in the United States. We will continue to monitor and report on any new developments on this issue as the situation evolves.