The Supreme Court has blocked former President Donald Trump’s attempt to end automatic citizenship for individuals born on American soil, reinforcing a core element of US immigration policy. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices invalidated an executive order issued by Trump that sought to restrict citizenship for children born in the United States to parents who are neither citizens nor permanent legal residents.

The Court’s decision reaffirms the constitutional guarantee provided by the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to “all persons born or naturalised in the United States.” Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, emphasized that citizenship has always symbolized the right to participate fully in the political community, a promise enshrined by the amendment’s framers following the Civil War.

This ruling upholds a legal precedent dating back more than 125 years, which had remained largely uncontested until Trump’s executive order. Prior to the Supreme Court’s judgment, lower courts had already suspended the order while the case was pending.

The decision marks another significant rebuke to Trump’s policy agenda, following the Court’s rejection of his tariff measures earlier this year. On the same day, justices also dismissed his effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, though they ruled in his favor in a separate case granting the president broader authority to fire federal agency officials.

Despite having appointed three of the nine justices on the Court, Trump’s relationship with the institution has been strained since the tariff ruling. He had publicly criticized the Court and anticipated a loss on the birthright citizenship case. The ruling’s majority coalition included Chief Justice Roberts, Justice Amy Coney Barrett—appointed by Trump—and the Court’s three liberal members. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another Trump appointee, diverged from the majority on constitutional grounds but concurred with the outcome.

Signaling the issue’s importance to the administration, Trump became the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court oral arguments when the case was heard in April. His legal team argued that the traditional interpretation of birthright citizenship had been flawed, suggesting it had allowed hundreds of thousands of individuals to claim US nationality without qualification. Opponents, including parents who challenged the order, contended that this reinterpretation would upend a fundamental constitutional provision.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, praised the ruling as a repudiation of what he described as Trump’s “disgraceful actions” and an affirmation of constitutional principles. The White House and Department of Justice had no immediate comment on the verdict.