The US Supreme Court has blocked Trump from revoking birthright citizenship.

On June 30, the US Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship. In doing so, the court thwarted one of the current president's key immigration policy initiatives and upheld the ruling of a lower court, according to reports. CBS.

The president's order was not retroactive and provided for the denial of citizenship to children born to parents in the United States without permission, or to those whose presence is legal but temporary, such as on a work or student visa.

The 6-3 decision in Trump v. Barbara marks the second time this year that the court has invalidated a major Trump initiative. Earlier, in February, the court struck down his massive global trade tariffs. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

On the subject: Lawyers use religious dogma in birthright citizenship case

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1866 and ratified two years after the Civil War ended slavery, overturned the infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford, which held that people of African descent could not be U.S. citizens.

Essentially, the amendment guaranteed citizenship to children born on U.S. soil, with limited exceptions, such as the children of foreign diplomats or members of enemy occupying forces.

Trump, who has repeatedly tested the limits of presidential authority in both domestic and foreign policy, signed the order on his first day back in office last year as part of a package of measures to tighten immigration policies.

On April 1, he personally attended the oral hearings on this case in the Supreme Court - this is the first time in history that a sitting president has participated in a court hearing.

On June 30, the US Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship, affirming the previous court's ruling.

Trump called on Congress to pass a new law

Following the court's decision, Trump wrote on social media that it was "bad for our country," but the situation, he said, "could easily be corrected in Congress through legislation with the support of the President, which has already been established through this process."

"No lengthy, cumbersome Constitutional amendment is required! Congress must START TODAY to end the costly and unfair practice of birthright citizenship. It will have my full and unconditional support!" Trump wrote.

Taryn Wilgus Null, senior counsel at Democracy Defenders Fund, called it a "gross misunderstanding" of the decision.

"The court essentially ruled that the order is unconstitutional," Wilgus Null said in an interview with As It Happens. "It violates the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment. If the country wants to change that, it would require a constitutional amendment. So President Trump is wrong about that."

Taryn Wilgus Null, who represented the plaintiffs in the case, remarked in an interview with As It Happens: "The very fact of being born here makes you one of us. And that, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful aspects of the American identity."

Those challenging the decree argued that the issue had already been decided by the Supreme Court in 1898 in the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which held that the 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship by birth within the United States, including to the children of foreign citizens.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the key decision, cited this precedent: "It is not surprising that over the past 128 years, we have repeatedly held that the rule established in Wong Kim Ark guarantees citizenship to all children born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. We see no reason to depart from that approach today."

Roberts noted, among other things, that the Trump administration had "extremely little evidence" to support its "radically revised" interpretation of the citizenship clause in the 14th Amendment, which would have limited birthright citizenship.

"If Congress had intended to limit American citizenship to the children of permanent residents of the United States, the short language of the citizenship clause would have made that clear," he argued.

Critics of the order claimed it could affect an average of 250,000 children born in the United States each year. In a "friends of the court" brief, a group of municipal and local officials argued that Trump's order would create "stateless persons" who would face stigma and discrimination, as well as limited access to basic services and healthcare.

The Justice Department is targeting "birth tourism."

During the hearing, U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer, representing the administration, said the practice of granting citizenship to virtually any child born on U.S. soil has spawned a massive "birth tourism" industry.

He said "untold thousands of foreigners, including from potentially hostile countries, have come to the United States to give birth in recent decades" to secure citizenship for their children.

When asked about the scale of the problem, Sauer mainly referred to media reports and admitted that "nobody knows for sure."

Hours after the Supreme Court's decision, the U.S. Department of Justice sent out a memo directing prosecutors to "prioritize the investigation and prosecution" of "birth tourism" fraud schemes.

A document prepared by the Deputy Attorney General's Office says that while many such cases qualify as visa fraud, prosecutors should consider other charges, including wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.

"By working together, we will put an end to illegal so-called birth tourism and bring those responsible to justice," the memo says.

Many countries, including the UK and Australia, do not guarantee citizenship by birthright. The Trump administration's initiative comes amid a crackdown on legal immigration and the de facto denial of nearly all asylum applications. An exception is made for white applicants from South Africa, while the country's Black population is disproportionately poor following decades of racial segregation.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

Furthermore, the administration has launched a massive deportation campaign, more extensive than previous administrations of both the Democratic and Republican parties. Last year, the US Supreme Court, in an unsigned order, simplified the government's process for sending deportees to third countries other than their countries of origin.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that the country's population growth last year was among the lowest in recent memory, excluding the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, largely due to a historic decline in international migration.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Trump plans to create lists of US citizens living in each state: why is this necessary?

Trump wants to end birthright citizenship, citing a 130-year-old case against a Native American.

US overseas territories have become birth tourism hubs for those seeking to give their children American citizenship.

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