Trump Defends Move to End Birthright Citizenship, Says Policy Was Intended ‘for Babies of Slaves, Not the Rich’

U.S. President Donald Trump has insisted that birthright citizenship was originally meant to protect the children of enslaved people—not, as he put it, “wealthy foreigners” who travel to the United States to give birth.

Speaking in an interview with Politico, Trump defended the executive order he signed on his first day back in office in January 2025, which aims to halt automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil. He cautioned that a Supreme Court ruling against his administration would be “devastating.”

Trump argued that the legal foundation for birthright citizenship “had everything to do with the babies of slaves,” dating back to the Civil War period.

“That case was not meant for some rich person coming from another country … and all of a sudden their whole family becomes United States citizens,” he said, adding that he believed judges “understand it, too.”

The 14th Amendment—adopted in 1868—establishes that anyone born or naturalised in the U.S. is a citizen. Its primary purpose was to guarantee citizenship for formerly enslaved people and others born in the country.

Following Trump’s January order, the administration announced that any child born in the U.S. more than 30 days after his inauguration would no longer automatically receive citizenship. The directive triggered numerous legal challenges, with federal courts initially blocking its enforcement.

In June, however, the Supreme Court ruled that lower courts lacked authority to issue sweeping nationwide injunctions stopping an executive order, opening the door for the justices themselves to consider the constitutionality of Trump’s directive.

Trump has defended his plan on economic grounds, arguing that the U.S. “cannot afford to house tens of millions of people.”

The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments soon, and its decision could reshape immigration policy and redefine how the 14th Amendment is interpreted.

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