Concerned about the fate of their children and future generations of Indian immigrants to this country, leaders and organizations in the community are relieved by the Supreme Court decision of June 30, 2026, that upheld the right to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
Barely two days into his administration, Jan. 22, 2026, President Donald Trump signed an executive order revoking citizenship to children born to not just undocumented individuals, but also to some categories of legal residents such as international students and tourists or others here temporarily, including those here on H-1B skilled worker visas. This was to begin applying to children born in these categories after February 19, 2025.
On June 30, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down that executive order. Even though the bench had a 6-3 split decision on the issue, Chief Justice John Roberts issued a clear ruling in the Trump v Barbara case saying — “children born in the United States to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are ‘subject to the jurisdiction’ of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause.”
That 14th Amendment clause reads as follows –“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.”
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President Trump’s executive order No. 14,160, viz. “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, claimed that birthright citizenship did not apply when the mother was unlawfully present in the country and the father was not a citizen or lawful permanent resident; or when that newborn person’s mother’s status was lawful but temporary and the father was not a citizen or permanent resident.
While President Trump has not given up the fight, it would be extremely hard, experts say, for the constitutional provisions to be overturned. It would require 2/3rd majorities in both House and Senate, and three-quarters of the states in the country would have to ratify the change.
Community leaders expressed their opposition to the administration’s attempts to revoke birthright citizenship, and welcomed the Supreme Court decision.
Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh, president of the Global Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, GAPIO, who has over the decades, fought for expanding the rights of foreign trained physicians and other immigrants as part of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, dwelt on the Indian American community’s hard-won rights to live and flourish in this country. Those achievements rested on the certainty of citizenship, he noted. (Dr. Parikh is also the Chairman and founder of Parikh Worldwide Media which brings out News India Times and other publications.)
“Our fellow Indians, including new immigrants, have shown their pioneer spirit over the last century and more. They have contributed to the making of this nation into a powerhouse in industry, technology, and agriculture, not to mention arts, culture, and politics. We cannot lose the constitutionally bestowed right to birthright citizenship. We must make sure our leaders and lawmakers guard the promise that this powerful nation made to its people.”
The Federation of Indian Associations, welcomed the Supreme Court decision. “This ruling carries particular significance for the Indian American community. A substantial number of Indian nationals in this country are present on temporary visas, including H-1B and H-4 status, or are awaiting adjustment of status through an employment-based green card backlog that, for many, spans decades,” FIA said.
“These are families who work, pay taxes, and build their lives here in full compliance with the law while enduring a uniquely protracted path to permanent residency. For their children born on American soil, citizenship has never been a mere formality — it is the constitutional guarantee upon which their identity as Americans rests. This decision preserves that guarantee,” FIA added. “We recognize this decision provides meaningful clarity and relief to Indian American families who had faced uncertainty regarding the citizenship status of their U.S.-born children.”
That executive order of January 22, 2025, was condemned roundly by Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans. More importantly, all Indian American lawmakers on Capitol Hill declared they were committed to protecting birthright citizenship.
California Rep. Ro Khanna questioned the GOP’s declarations about supporting legal immigration. “Trump’s order removes birthright citizenship for children born in the US not just to undocumented parents but to ‘lawful’ immigrants who are temporarily on a student visa, H1B/H2B visa, or business visa. So much for the pretence that the Republicans are for legal immigration,” Khanna said.
Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar said, “No matter what Donald Trump says or does, birthright citizenship has and will be the law of the land. I will fight to protect it at all costs,”
Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal called it unconstitutional “Plain and simple” contending it cannot be done with the stroke of a pen. “If enacted, it would make a mockery of our country’s laws and the precedents set in the Constitution.”
After the Supreme Court ruling, the President posted on Truth Social, “The Supreme Court upheld Birthright Citizenship, which is too bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation, with the support of the President, that has now been determined during this process. No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary! Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!”
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, in his statement, said the Supreme Court decision “reaffirms a fundamental constitutional principle: every child born in the United States is an American citizen.”
“As an immigrant and a proud Indian American, I know firsthand what the Supreme Court’s decision means for our community. For generations of Indian American families who came to this country seeking opportunity, its reaffirmation of birthright citizenship ensures that their children born in the United States are recognized as full and equal Americans from the moment they are born, free to pursue the American Dream and contribute to our nation’s future,” Krishnamoorti said. “The Court made clear that no President can create different classes of citizenship by executive order and that the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal citizenship protects every child born in the United States, regardless of their parents’ country of origin.”
Michigan Rep. Shri Thanedar, in his statement, said, “The Supreme Court did what the Constitution requires: it affirmed that people born in the United States are American citizens,” and called it, “a major win for civil rights and the rule of law.”
Thanedar however, pointed to the 6-3 ruling cautioning that the close decision could not be ignored, and it showed how “it is a reminder of how fragile our rights can be when MAGA extremists are determined to rewrite them.” He expressed the fear of another Supreme Court justice with a conservative bent could be appointed meanwhile, to attempt again to overturn the fundamental birthright citizenship. He urged Democrats to regain the Senate majority to prevent such a situation.
Thanedar noted that the 14th Amendment was written after the Civil War to ensure that formerly enslaved Black Americans could not have their citizenship questioned or denied because of their race. Now, he noted, the attempt to revoke that same constitutional protection is targeting immigrant families and children born in this country.
Rep. Jayapal, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, in her statement on the June 30 Supreme Court ruling, said, “Donald Trump is not a king, and he cannot, with the stroke of a pen, change our Constitution.” She slammed the attempt to revoke it as an “anti-immigrant, xenophobic agenda” which had traumatized Americans across the country and families who feared their children would be born stateless.
“Today’s ruling rightly reaffirms that if you are born in America, you are American, plain and simple.
Jayapal helped to lead an amicus brief in the case, which was signed by over 200 Members of Congress.
Virginia Congressman Suhas Subramanyam in his statement following the Supreme Court ruling, called the executive order a “blatant and unconstitutional attempt to strip citizenship from children of immigrants all across the country. These immigrants are folks who have served our country in so many ways and contributed to the success of our economy. And make no mistake: they are American.”
He reiterated the need to push for “long overdue, commonsense immigration reform.”
New York State Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar also reacted strongly to the June 30 SC ruling. “Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory for the Constitution, for immigrant families, and for the very promise of America,” and described birthright citizenship as a “bedrock constitutional guarantee.”
“As the daughter of immigrants, I know that America is strongest when every child born here is recognized with the full dignity, rights, and opportunity of citizenship. This decision reaffirms who we are as a nation: a country that keeps faith with the Constitution, honors the dignity of every child born on our soil, and protects the promise of equal citizenship under the law.”
Notably, most mainstream civil rights and immigration-related organizations in the country lauded the Supreme Court decision. And the Libertarian Cato Institute went so far as to run an analysis headlined, “Trump Violated the Constitution by Trying to Deport US-Born Americans,” but it cautioned the issue of birthright citizenship was far from dead.