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Following the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling on Friday, President Donald Trump said Monday that the justices will likely “find a way to come to the wrong conclusion” regarding birthright citizenship.
On Monday, Trump predicted that the U.S. Supreme Court probably will not side with him on an executive order directing federal agencies to recognize as American citizens only babies born to individuals who are in the country legally.
“[T]his supreme court will find a way to come to the wrong conclusion,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
His comments came after a 6-3 decision by the high court on Friday determining that he lacked the authority to impose tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion, joined by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Reacting to the tariffs decision on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “The supreme court (will be using lower case letters for a while based on a complete lack of respect!) of the United States accidentally and unwittingly gave me, as President of the United States, far more powers and strength than I had prior to their ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive ruling.”
“The court has … approved all other Tariffs, of which there are many, and they can all be used in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used. Our incompetent supreme court did a great job for the wrong people, and for that they should be ashamed of themselves (but not the Great Three!),” he added, referring to Kavanaugh, Alito, and Thomas.
Trump continued, “The next thing you know they will rule in favor of China and others, who are making an absolute fortune on Birthright Citizenship, by saying the 14th Amendment was NOT written to take care of the ‘babies of slaves,’ which it was as proven by the EXACT TIMING of its construction, filing, and ratification, which perfectly coincided with the END OF THE CIVIL WAR.”
“How much better can you do than that? But this supreme court will find a way to come to the wrong conclusion, one that again will make China, and various other Nations, happy and rich,” he wrote.
For roughly the past 15 years, Chinese birth tourism has expanded significantly, with estimates suggesting that “at least 750,000 and possibly as many as 1.5 million Chinese, who are also American citizens by virtue of being born here, are now growing toward adulthood in China,” Peter Schweizer wrote in a New York Post opinion piece last month.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio argued in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court that these Chinese nationals are “entitled to vote in any U.S. election of their choosing and move freely within our borders.”
On his first day back in office in January 2025, Trump signed an executive order stating that only those born to parents “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States qualify as citizens, citing language from the Fourteenth Amendment.
Under that policy, children born to individuals who are not legal residents would not automatically receive U.S. citizenship.
Multiple lawsuits were filed nationwide seeking to block enforcement of the order. Federal district courts issued injunctions halting it, and federal appeals courts in San Francisco, Boston, and Richmond, Virginia, later upheld those rulings.
Trump discussed his interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment during a December 2024 interview with NBC “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, shortly before beginning his second term.
Welker asked, “The Fourteenth Amendment, though, says that ‘All persons born in the United States are citizens.’ Can you get around the Fourteenth Amendment with an executive action?”
Current federal policy recognizes children born in the United States to illegal immigrants as American citizens.
“Well, we’re going to have to get a change,” Trump replied. “We’re the only country that has it!”
A key portion of the Fourteenth Amendment not included in Welker’s quote reads, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
Some legal scholars contend that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” limits citizenship to children born to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, such as green card holders.
That interpretation aligns with the position taken by the Trump administration.
