Sky News presenter Jayne Secker interrupted the broadcast to deliver breaking news from the United States, where the Supreme Court ruled against Donald Trump's executive order to restrict birthright citizenship. The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, dealt a significant blow to the former president's immigration agenda.
Supreme Court Ruling
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the 6-3 opinion that firmly rejected the executive order issued by Trump on the first day of his second term in January 2025. The court interpreted the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause to mean that all children born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship, with only three limited exceptions, one of which remains today: children of foreign diplomats.
Speaking to Sky News from Washington, reporter David Blevins explained the historical context: "For 150 years, it has been the case that any child born, or the majority of children born in the United States, have the right to US citizenship. The only exceptions to that are the children of diplomats and children born to people deemed invading enemy during wartime."
Constitutional Interpretation
The citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment states: "All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." Trump's administration had argued that the phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" meant being born in the US was not sufficient for citizenship.
Blevins continued: "In this case the president's lawyers argued that the world had changed, the Solicitor General told the Supreme Court that 8 million people are now just one plane ride away from giving birth to a US citizen." He added that one of the more liberal justices responded that "the world might have changed, but the Constitution has not changed," a line of reasoning that persuaded Trump that the ruling might not go his way.
Historical Significance
The 14th Amendment was introduced after the Civil War to grant former slaves and their children the right to citizenship. Blevins described the ruling as "the most significant attempt in 150 years to push back on that right to citizenship, to redefine what it means to be an American."
Chief Justice Roberts noted that the framers of the 14th Amendment defined citizenship in broad terms deliberately, rejecting views that sought to limit citizenship. The resulting language of the amendment affirms: "All persons born or naturalised in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
