Trump wants birthright citizenship changes. See how many people are impacted
President Donald Trump is pushing for changes to birthright citizenship that would affect a large portion of the U.S. population. According to 2024 data from the U.S. Census, more than 25 million foreign-born U.S. residents were naturalized citizens.
Since 1868, birthright citizenship has made anyone born in the United States a citizen – whether the child of citizens, foreign nationals living legally in the United States, or unauthorized immigrants. Now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide the issue.
In a May 10 post on Truth Social, Trump predicted the justices would strike down his effort to limit who qualifies for automatic U.S. citizenship: "They will be ruling against us on Birthright Citizenship, making us the only Country in the World that practices this unsustainable, unsafe, and incredibly costly DISASTER," he wrote.
In January, the Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s tariffs and this summer will reveal if Trump's prediction is correct. Trump, who signed the order shortly after taking office in January 2025, attended the Trump v. Barbara hearing on April 1, the first time a sitting president has been present for oral arguments.
April's hearing was the second time the Supreme Court has considered Trump's citizenship order. On June 27, 2025, the justices voted 6-3 to partially stay temporary restraints by district courts that blocked Trump's order from taking effect. The court said the district courts had likely exceeded their authority.
The order is widely viewed as a legal long shot, and the justices have more than one way to stop it.
They could rule that the order violates the 14th Amendment's citizenship guarantee to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof." The court could also rule against Trump more narrowly by finding that his executive order violates a 1952 immigration law.
How many people gain citizenship through birthright?
According to estimates from the Migration Policy Institute and Penn State’s Population Research Institute, ending birthright citizenship would result in an average of 255,000 children being born in the United States without citizenship each year and would increase the number of unauthorized migrants living in the United States by 2.7 million by 2045 and 5.4 million by 2075.
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The Pew Research Center found in 2022 that about 4.4 million U.S.-born children under 18 live with an unauthorized immigrant parent.
How many unauthorized immigrants live in the U.S.
The number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States has increased since the 1990s, peaking at 12.2 million in 2007, according to estimates from the Pew Research Center.
Where does the foreign-born population live in the United States?
In 2022, nearly a quarter of the U.S. foreign-born population lived in California. Foreign-born populations made up more than 20% of New Jersey, New York, California and Florida's total populations, according to the Census Bureau.
Foreign-born residents are anyone who was born outside the United States, including naturalized U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, temporary migrants, such as international students, humanitarian migrants, such as refugees, and unauthorized migrants.
In almost every state, the foreign-born population was larger in 2022 compared with 2010. Delaware,North Dakota, South Dakota and West Virginia experienced the largest increases in foreign-born populations from 2010 to 2022, a bump of 40% or more in each state.
The foreign-born population in the United States has increased over the past five decades. In 1970, 4.7% of the U.S. population was born outside the country. By 2022, 13.9% of the U.S. population was foreign-born.
Where are foreign-born U.S. residents immigrating from?
More than half of foreign-born residents in the United States immigrated from countries in Latin America, according to the Census Bureau. Close to a third of residents immigrated from Asia.
What is naturalization?
The Council on Foreign Relations describes naturalization as a process in which a non-U.S. citizen can apply for citizenship after meeting specific requirements, such as passing a civics test, demonstrating basic English proficiency and living in the United States over a continuous period of time.
Which countries grant birthright citizenship?
According to a Pew Research Center analysis, 32 other countries around the world, most of them in the Western Hemisphere, have birthright citizenship laws that are substantially similar to those of the United States.
Read more:
Countries in the Americas grant birthright citizenship. What happens if they revoke it?
Key takeaways from the historic Supreme Court debate on birthright citizenship
NOTE: This story updates a previous report with new information.
CONTRIBUTING: Lauren Villagran, Maureen Groppe and Bart Jansen
SOURCE: USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; U.S. Census Bureau