President Trump is expected to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court as the justices take up one of the most contentious constitutional questions of his presidency: whether he can restrict birthright citizenship.
The case will test the limits of executive power and the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to all people born in the United States. Trump has made ending birthright citizenship a central policy goal, but the legal path forward remains uncertain.
Constitutional scholars have noted a fundamental constraint: Trump cannot unilaterally overturn a constitutional amendment. Any such change would require action from Congress, not the executive branch alone.
The administration's strategy sidesteps this obstacle. Rather than arguing they are overturning the amendment, officials contend they are simply interpreting it according to its original intent. This framing allows them to pursue restrictions without explicitly challenging the constitutional text itself.
The justices will have to weigh competing interpretations of the amendment's scope and language. The outcome could reshape citizenship law for millions of people born in the United States, particularly children of non-citizen immigrants.
Trump's attendance at the arguments signals the case's political significance to his administration. The decision will likely become one of the court's most consequential rulings on immigration and constitutional interpretation in recent years.
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