Donald Trump hailed a “giant win” Supreme Court decision that allows his administration to take steps to implement its proposal to end automatic birthright US citizenship.
The 6-3 ruling will curb judges’ power to block President Trump’s order nationwide.
Birthright citizenship automatically makes anyone born in the United States an American citizen, including children born to undocumented immigrant mothers and those in the country illegally.
The right was enshrined soon after the Civil War in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
But, on his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending it.
A series of lawsuits followed with district courts issuing injunctions aiming to block the order from taking effect.
The outcome was a victory for the Republican president, who has complained about individual judges throwing up obstacles to his agenda.
During a rare news conference in the White House briefing room, Trump said that the decision was “amazing” and a “monumental victory for the Constitution”.
He said in recent months "radical left judges" have tried to overrule his powers as president, adding nationwide injunctions were a "grave threat to democracy".
The US is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship — the principle of jus soli or “right of the soil” — is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.
Trump and his supporters have argued that there should be tougher standards for becoming an American citizen, which he called “a priceless and profound gift” in the executive order he signed on his first day in office.
The president’s administration has asserted that children of non-citizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, a phrase used in the amendment, and therefore are not entitled to citizenship.
But states, immigrants and rights groups that have sued to block the executive order have accused the administration of trying to unsettle the broader understanding of birthright citizenship that has been accepted since the amendment’s adoption.
Judges have uniformly ruled against the administration.
