1 July 2026

Fewer words are better known in America’s founding documents than the start of the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…” And yet the reality of how this looks in practice is far from utopic.

From the battles over slavery to the immigration rhetoric today — questions of equality and rights under the US Constitution have been consistently divisive and fraught. Today, the Supreme Court upheld 128 years of precedent interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment that, yes, all people born in the United States, regardless of their parentage, are American citizens.

The decision largely rested on the interpretation of the clause “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof”, which President Trump’s team argued meant excluding people with an allegiance to a different country (where they are domiciled). Arguing for the majority Chief Justice Roberts rejected this interpretation, saying “nearly everyone within the territorial boundaries of the United States was ‘amenable to’ the Nation’s jurisdiction.”

While the United States’ version of birthright citizenship originates in British law, it was not until after the Civil War and the end of slavery that Americans enshrined it in their Constitution. In their dissent, justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch interpret much of the language in the Fourteenth Amendment and Civil Rights Act of 1866 (US) centred around the citizenship of former slaves and their children and note the language of the Civil Rights Act (US) that citizenship was guaranteed to persons who were “not subject to any foreign power.”

In a separate dissenting opinion, Justice Alito takes up issue with the whole premise of deriving the jus soli (right of the soil) principle of citizenship, derived from English common law. He notes, “it is ironic that the Court should embrace it only days before we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, which emphatically renounced the foundation on which the British rule rested.”

Unrestricted birthright citizenship is only available in 36 countries, 30 of which are in the Americas. No European nation offers birthright citizenship, and Australia ended the practice in 1986.

As we approach the United States’ semiquincentennial, this ruling reaffirms a more expansive view of who is considered a citizen than we see in most countries around the world. However, this will likely set off new debates within the United States. While most Americans say they support birthright citizenship for people whose parents have a legal right to be in the United States, public opinion is evenly split on whether citizenship should be granted to children whose parents immigrated illegally.

Responding to the ruling, President Trump said it was "bad for our Country, but we can easily make it up in Congress through Legislation.” If a legislative pathway is pursued, this issue is likely to become a significant point of contention. In this way, the decision is far from the end and is likely to be the beginning of a significant debate in the years to come.

Read the full Supreme Court opinion

Mari Koeck
Director of Engagement and Impact

Lead image: The US Supreme Court building in Washington DC on 25 June 2026,
as the court releases a series of decisions nearing the end of its current term.
(Photo by Mehmet Eser/Anadolu via Getty Images)

"Congress should start TODAY to work on ending expensive and unfair to our Country, Birthright Citizenship. They will have my Complete and Total Support!"

President Trump on Truth Social | 30 June 2026

Recent content

To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States, USSC released Reflections on America at 250, a special collection of articles from USSC experts, including new polling on the US-Australia relationship and essays reflecting on different aspects of American history and what it means today.

The USSC will also be releasing a special USSC Briefing Room podcast series with the authors of Reflections on America at 250. The first episode with Prof. Benjamin Reilly is available now.

View the collection

EXPLAINER

Who is Dave Brat, Trump’s nominee for US Ambassador to Australia?

Senior Research Associates Samuel Garrett and Ava Kalinauskas break down what you need to know about President Trump's nominee for US Ambassador to Australia David Brat, the man who made history by defeating one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress.

Read the explainer

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Australia’s perception of rising nuclear risks

USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee co-authored, alongside Zack Cooper (ed.), Bee Yun Jo and Satoru Mori, a National Bureau of Asian Research special report titled Extended Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific in an Era of Great-Power Competition. Dr Lee's chapter, "Australia’s Perception of Rising Nuclear Risks," examines Australian perceptions of the reliability and credibility of the US-Australia alliance in general and US extended nuclear deterrence in particular and argues that while official Australian government policy has not changed, the Trump administration’s transactional approach to alliances has shaken the foundations of faith in the alliance.

Read the chapter

PODCAST

USSC Briefing Room | America at 250: US influence on Australian democracy

This year, the United States Studies Centre has joined forces with the UK High Commission to run two track 1.5 workshops on economic security – one in London and one here in Sydney. Olivia O’Sullivan, Chatham House Director of the UK in the World Programme and Hayley Channer, USSC Director of Economic Security joined the USSC Briefing Room podcast to discuss key findings from these closed-door discussions.

Listen to the podcast

COMMENTARY

International efforts to end North Korea’s nuclear weapons program have failed. Here’s what comes next

In this op-ed for The Conversation, Research Fellow Dr Christopher Watterson discusses why efforts to denuclearise North Korea have failed and what it means for the region. In the article, he shares findings from a survey conducted with 70 international nuclear weapons experts earlier this year.

Read the op-ed

In the news

News.com.au | ‘Autumn is deepening’: Ukraine ambassador, Australian security experts issues chilling warning about China threat

Speaking at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Defence Conference, USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee warned about Australia's lack of an integrated air and missile defence system, saying, "If we can’t protect our forces, how can we talk about long-range strikes? That’s not credible to our adversary."

Read here

Sky News | US-Iran strikes spark escalation fears while both sides seen as avoiding 'all-out' war

While tensions remain between the United States and Iran, USSC Director of Research Jared Mondschein noted, "I think both actors also do not want an all-out war; they both do not see it as advantageous to their domestic interests for an all-out war."

Watch here

By the numbers

USSC polling in 2025 and 2026

The impact of a tumultuous period on Australian public opinion

Since USSC’s last polling in August 2025, some developments that one could assume would impact Australian views of the United States include a US executive order that could dramatically drive up the costs of Australian pharmaceuticals, US military strikes on alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea, the release of US national security documents prioritising the Western Hemisphere over the Indo-Pacific, US intervention in Venezuela capturing President Nicolas Maduro, and perhaps most notably, a US intervention in Iran that has prompted the largest energy crisis in decades.

Yet despite such major events, Australian perceptions of the US remain remarkably consistent from last year’s polling. For a second year in a row, only 16% of Australians think the second Trump term has been good for Australia while the majority think it has been bad or very bad for Australia (58%, an increase from 56%). Also identical or within the margin of error to last year’s polling of Australians: the mere 15% who support abandoning the US alliance, the 30% who say that the US is a danger to Australia, and the 49% who say that “Australia needs its alliance with the United States more than ever” (more than two times the size of the 20% who disagree).

Major developments can not only lead to dramatic swings in public opinion, but also risks the publication of such polls to be considered stale and overtaken by events only a few months or even weeks after they were conducted.

Such consistency in Australian opinions about the United States perhaps is not despite such events but actually because of them. In an era of increased geopolitics, Australians remain keen to stick with what works and, for most of them, the US alliance has continued to work despite their significant misgivings about the US political leadership.

This is an excerpt of Australian public opinion and eternal interests by Director of Research Jared Mondschein.

View the full polling results by Senior Research Associates Samuel Garrett and Ava Kalinauskas with Jared Mondschein here.

View polling

Jared Mondschein
Director of Research

Upcoming event

PUBLIC FORUM

Impact of the Supreme Court rulings on Trump 2.0

Join us for a special event featuring co-host of ABC’s Planet America Chas Licciardello and USSC Honorary Associate Dr Harry Melkonian.

From striking down President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs to undoing core pillars of the Voting Rights Act, the US Supreme Court docket this year has already made history. Some of the most consequential decisions will be released at the end of the court’s calendar, including the future of birthright citizenship in the United States and whether the president can remove leaders of independent federal agencies at will.

Which decisions are most consequential? How can the Supreme Court temper the power of the president? What are the long-term impacts of these decisions?

To discuss the final rulings of this year’s Supreme Court docket, please join us for a special event featuring co-host of ABC’s Planet America Chas Licciardello and USSC Honorary Associate Dr Harry Melkonian in conversation with USSC Director of Economic Security Hayley Channer.