United Stateless and GSLC Lauds Supreme Court Decision Affirming Constitutional Right to Birthright Citizenship
- United Stateless
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
[WASHINGTON, D.C., June 30, 2026] — The Supreme Court today held that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship to all children born in the United States, and that President Trump’s Executive Order 14160 is unconstitutional. The decision in Trump v. Barbara reaffirms more than a century of precedent rooted in United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898) and demonstrates that no executive action can strip American-born children of their citizenship.
This victory belongs to the parents who brought suit under pseudonyms to protect their children from a future of statelessness, the lawyers who fought at every level of the courts, and the stateless people and immigrant communities who refused to accept that an executive order could undo a constitutional right.
United Stateless was proud to submit an amicus brief alongside the Global Strategic Litigation Council (GSLC) and 49 other migrant rights organizations, amplifying the perspective of stateless people who know from personal experience what it means to be denied the citizenship of the country where you were born.
Karina Ambartsoumian-Clough, Executive Director of United Stateless said: “This ruling should never have been needed. But today the Supreme Court got it right. Birthright Citizenship is one of America’s strongest protections against statelessness. No child born in America should ever have to wonder whether they belong or grow up without a nationality. Today's decision affirms that the Constitution protects every child born here and safeguards future generations from the devastating consequences of statelessness.”
“We welcome today's decision, which provides a clear and unequivocal confirmation of the constitutional right to birthright citizenship,” said Bella Mosselmans, Director of the Global Strategic Litigation Council. “By upholding this principle today, the Court has prevented the creation of a generation of stateless children. Importantly, it has also provided the Executive with the very necessary reminder that it is not above the law.”
Stateless people in America face barriers to studying, working, and building a life with their family. As detailed in our amicus brief, they are caught in the gaps of immigration law with no country willing to claim them. They often live in limbo and in fear of immigration detention. United Stateless will continue to fight to ensure that stateless people in the United States can access legal recognition and citizenship, including by advocating for Congress to pass the Stateless Protection Act.
We thank the ACLU, the Legal Defense Fund, the Asian Law Caucus, Democracy Defenders Fund, which represented the brave individuals who brought this case to the Court, and every organization and individual who stood with us in this fight. And we send our deepest gratitude to the families of Barbara and the other plaintiffs, who had the courage to fight this unconstitutional executive order on behalf of all of us.
About Global Strategic Litigation Council
The Global Strategic Litigation Council is a global coalition of over 700 NGOs, refugee leaders, lawyers, advocates, and academics working to advance the rights of displaced people through strategic litigation and coordinated legal advocacy.
About United Stateless
United Stateless is the only national advocacy organization in the United States led by and for stateless people. We work to end statelessness in America through advocacy, litigation support, public education, and community organizing.
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CONTACT:
Alexa Marquez, United Stateless
Laura Karan, GSLC