Washington: US President Donald Trump has suffered a major setback in the country’s Supreme Court over his attempt to abolish birthright citizenship as part of his broader strategy to enforce stricter immigration rules. The apex court strongly criticised Trump’s decision to revoke the constitutional provision granting automatic citizenship to children born on American soil, ruling that the law must continue to remain in force as it currently stands.
Trump had made a determined push to do away with the decades-old provision under which anyone born on US territory is automatically granted citizenship, going as far as issuing a special executive order to that effect. However, the US Supreme Court firmly rejected both Trump’s unilateral decision and the executive order he issued, ruling that a constitutionally guaranteed citizenship right cannot be undermined.
The ruling represents a significant setback for the Trump administration in court, and has been seen as bringing major relief to millions of immigrants seeking to settle in the United States, including a large number of Indians.