A U.S. appeals court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. The ruling backs a lower court decision that had blocked the controversial order, which has been caught up in legal battles for months.
The executive order aimed to restrict automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to parents who are in the country illegally or on temporary visas. This move challenged the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in its ruling on July 23, 2025, agreed that the order violated the U.S. Constitution and supported the nationwide injunction that halted the policy. Judge Ronald Gould, in writing for the court, explained that the lower court’s decision was correct because limiting the injunction to just one state would have been ineffective. As people move between states, inconsistent citizenship rules would create confusion and unfair situations.
Gould emphasized that the Constitution’s text clearly guarantees birthright citizenship, and Trump’s reinterpretation of the law was found to be unconstitutional.
Trump’s executive order, issued earlier this year, sought to end the long-standing rule that automatically grants citizenship to any child born on U.S. soil. It specifically targeted children born to parents who are in the country without legal authorization or who are on temporary visas, arguing that they should not be granted automatic citizenship.
This ruling is part of an ongoing legal battle. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously avoided ruling on the core issue of the order’s constitutionality, instead addressing procedural concerns about nationwide injunctions. Despite this, Trump celebrated the Supreme Court’s stance as a “win” for his administration.
The case will continue in the courts, with the possibility of further appeals or new legal challenges. A federal judge recently granted a class-action status to children potentially affected by the order, and a preliminary injunction is currently in place as the case progresses.
This ruling marks a significant legal setback for President Trump’s attempts to overhaul birthright citizenship, keeping the longstanding constitutional guarantee intact for now.
