Former President Donald Trump stated Wednesday that he intends to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to rehear a case concerning birthright citizenship, which the court ruled against him last month. The Supreme Court had previously quashed an executive order from Trump's first day in office that aimed to end automatic birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants and those entering the country for childbirth.
Trump expressed his frustration on Truth Social, citing reports of signs and billboards advertised near the southern border and in Mexico promoting birthright citizenship. He asserted that this situation is "not sustainable" and that "AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP IS NOT FOR SALE!" According to Trump, advertising citizenship in this manner constitutes a crime, rendering the Supreme Court's ruling incorrect. He declared he would "IMMEDIATELY" request a rehearing.
The Supreme Court rarely grants rehearings. The last instance of the justices agreeing to rehear a decided case was in 1965, and that was to address a technicality, not to issue a full reversal. The Court has reversed a merits ruling only once in its history, in the 1956 case of Reid v. Covert. While the justices have overturned precedents, these reversals typically occur in different cases argued years later, such as the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision overturning the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling.
The court's 5-4 decision on June 30 affirmed that children born to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the U.S. automatically become citizens in accordance with the 14th Amendment. Following this decision, Trump had suggested that Congress could legislate an end to birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants and those entering the U.S. for birth. However, many legal experts contend that a constitutional amendment would be necessary to prevent further legal challenges.
Trump characterized the court's decision as a "miscarriage of justice" that would "destroy America if they don’t change their absolutely insane decision." Separately, Trump's legal team has asked the Supreme Court to review its denial of his appeal in a defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll, in which he was ordered to pay $5.3 million.