Americans Oppose Ending Birthright Citizenship, Poll Finds

A strong majority of Americans continue to oppose efforts to end birthright citizenship, according to a new national survey released as the country awaits a potentially historic ruling from the Supreme Court of the United States.

The poll, conducted by Reuters and Ipsos, found that nearly two thirds of U.S. adults oppose eliminating automatic citizenship for children born on American soil, while a smaller portion supports changing the law. The findings highlight broad public resistance to altering one of the country’s longest standing constitutional protections.

The debate intensified after Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to limit citizenship by birth for children born to undocumented immigrants or certain temporary visa holders. That order quickly faced legal challenges and is now under review by the nation’s highest court, setting the stage for a decision that could reshape U.S. immigration law.

The issue has exposed a sharp political divide. Democratic voters overwhelmingly reject ending birthright citizenship, while Republican voters are far more supportive of restricting it, reflecting how immigration policy has become one of the most polarizing issues in American politics.

Birthright citizenship has been a cornerstone of U.S. law since the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1868. Adopted after the Civil War, the amendment established that anyone born in the United States is a citizen, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, a principle that has shaped American identity for more than 150 years.

Legal scholars say any ruling that narrows that constitutional protection could have sweeping consequences, affecting thousands of births each year and creating major legal uncertainty for immigrant families across the country.

As the court prepares to rule, civil rights organizations, immigration advocates, lawmakers, and legal experts are closely watching what may become one of the most consequential constitutional immigration decisions in modern U.S. history.