Trump makes historic SCOTUS appearance for birthright citizenship case

President Donald Trump will make a historic appearance at the Supreme Court on Wednesday to hear the justices weigh his executive order to block birthright citizenship.

Never before has a president participated in oral arguments at the Supreme Court; That underscores the weight Trump is giving to the landmark case, which could overturn more than 100 years of precedent allowing automatic citizenship for most babies born in the United States.

Attorney General Pam Bondi accompanied Trump to the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning.

“I’ve been listening to this debate for a very long time, and it’s not about Chinese billionaires or billionaires from other countries suddenly having 75 children or 59 children or 10 children becoming American citizens. This was about slaves,” Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy of the case in the Oval Office on Tuesday.

SUPREME COURT PREPARES TO REVIEW TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTH RIGHT CITIZENSHIP

At issue in the case is language in the 14th Amendment that says anyone born in the United States and “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” is automatically a citizen. Trump noted that the provision was a holdover from the Civil War.

“It was about slaves’ babies,” Trump said. “This had nothing to do with protecting multimillionaires and billionaires who want to get American citizenship for their children. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. It’s been handled so badly by lawyers over the years.”

BIRTH RIGHT CITIZENSHIP SUPPORTERS MISTAKE THE LAW BY IGNORING CLEAR EVIDENCE

Trump’s order would change birthright citizenship, which allows babies born to non-U.S. citizens to automatically obtain U.S. citizenship, except for those born to foreign diplomats.

People demonstrate outside the US Supreme Court ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected arrival in Washington DC on April 1, 2026. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

Lower courts have collectively rejected Trump’s policy and blocked it through injunctions in class-action lawsuits.

Trump has argued that he wants to reduce abuses against immigrants as part of his crackdown on immigrants. 14th AmendmentThis may also include aliens who travel to the United States solely to give birth with no intention of settling in the country legally.

Presidential limousine “The Beast” carrying US President Donald Trump leaves the White House for the US Supreme Court in Washington DC on April 01, 2026. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The administration has said the change also encourages immigrants to enter the country illegally to give birth and rewards pregnant women already living in the country illegally by giving their children citizenship.

HOW TO HANDLE PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION CASE IN COURT

People demonstrate over birthright citizenship in front of the United States Supreme Court on Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Washington Post via Matt McClain/Getty Images)

Trump is expected to watch as his attorney general, John Sauer, argues to the justices that he should side with the president. Traditionally, during oral arguments, only the judges and attorneys defending the case speak.

A lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union will challenge Trump’s executive order before the high court on Wednesday. An ACLU executive director said in a statement that Trump “could watch the ACLU educate him on the meaning of the Constitution” and that the organization “would be glad to sit next to him.”

CLICK TO REACH THE FOX NEWS APPLICATION

“Any effort to distract from the seriousness and importance of this case will not be successful,” ACLU executive director Anthony Romero said. “The Supreme Court has the duty to interpret and defend the Constitution, even under the gaze of a president sitting a few dozen feet away.”