Trump says birthright citizenship was meant for the 'babies of slaves,' not 'rich people from China'

Ahead of Wednesday’s Supreme Court hearing regarding a challenge to President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for illegal immigrants or those in the country only temporarily, Trump said that the concept was meant for the children of slaves, not "rich people from China."

"Birthright Citizenship is not about rich people from China, and the rest of the World, who want their children, and hundreds of thousands more, FOR PAY, to ridiculously become citizens of the United States of America. It is about the BABIES OF SLAVES! We are the only Country in the World that dignifies this subject with even discussion. Look at the dates of this long ago legislation - THE EXACT END OF THE CIVIL WAR! The World is getting rich selling citizenships to our Country, while at the same time laughing at how STUPID our U.S. Court System has become (TARIFFS!). 'Dumb Judges and Justices will not a great Country make!’"

The case being heard at the Supreme Court on Wednesday is Trump v Barbara. The Trump administration has asked the court to weigh whether the executive order, which was issued on Trump’s first day back in office, complies with the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment and 8 USC 1401(a). 

The petition to the court stated that the Citizenship Clause "was adopted to grant citizenship to newly freed slaves and their children—not to the children of temporary visitors or illegal aliens," and that "This Court’s earliest cases interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly rejected the notion that anyone born in United States territory, no matter the circumstances, is automatically a citizen so long as he is subject to US law."

A case involving birthright citizenship made it before the Supreme Court in 2025, however, the Trump administration only asked the justices to block lower court judges from issuing universal injunctions, blocking the order across the United States. The justices ruled in the Trump administration's favor. If the order is upheld by the Supreme Court, it would apply to children born 30 days after the issuance of the order.