Wednesday, April 1

Where does the Supreme Court stand on birthright citizenship?

President Trump is challenging the longstanding interpretation of a constitutional provision guaranteeing birthright citizenship to nearly everyone.

Demonstrators rally outside the US Supreme Court as the court hears Trump v. Barbara in Washington, DC, on April 1, 2026. The court is reviewing a lower court's rejection of Trump's argument that children of parents who are in the country illegally or temporarily are not entitled to citizenship.

The Supreme Court gave a tough – but not dismissive – review of President Donald Trump's effort to redefine who is an American, debating the issue on Wednesday as the president himself added to the historical significance of the case by attending the arguments.

"The examples you give to support (your position) strike me as very quirky," Chief Justice John Roberts told the Justice Department's attorney shortly after the debate began.

But the conservative justices, who have a 6-3 majority, also had probing questions for the other side, particularly about how to understand the court's landmark 1898 ruling upholding the citizenship of a San Francisco-born man whose Chinese parents were barred from becoming citizens under the laws of the time.

How did Trump react? He became the first sitting president to attend an oral argument at the Supreme Court but left the court after Solicitor General John Sauer wrapped his oral arguments. Shortly after the arguments were over, the president posted on social media calling unrestricted birthright citizenship "STUPID."

USA TODAY was in the court on Wednesday listening to debates. Catch up to the latest reaction and recap how the debates unfolded.

Keep reading: Cecillia Wang, the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who went up against the Trump administration at the high court, told USA TODAY she's well aware of the history of the fight – and her place in it.

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