Demonstrators holds up an anti-Trump sign outside the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
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ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
If you’re born in the United States – with a few exceptions – you’re a U.S. citizen. That principle is called birthright citizenship and it’s existed since the end of the Civil War.
Some 160 years later, President Donald Trump wants to change that. On his first day back in office in 2025, he signed an executive order that tries to narrow the category of who is eligible.
The Supreme Court is set to weigh in. It hears the case on Wednesday. What could the outcomes of this case mean for U.S. citizenship – for new immigrants, for their children, and for native born citizens?
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