The Supreme Court’s recent ruling lifting blocks on Donald Trump’s executive order has thrown the future of birthright citizenship into uncertainty. While the Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the order, it allowed the policy—which denies automatic citizenship to children born in the U.S. to undocumented or temporary-status parents—to take effect while lower courts decide its fate.
That order, signed by President Trump on his first day back in office, challenges a long-standing legal tradition rooted in the 14th Amendment. If enforced as written, it would retroactively strip citizenship from many prominent Americans who were born to non-citizen parents—people who are citizens today only because they were born on U.S. soil.
Here are a few notable figures who would not have been recognized as U.S. citizens at birth under Trump’s new rule:
Marco Rubio
The current Secretary of State and former senator was born in Miami in 1971 to Cuban immigrants who didn’t become U.S. citizens until four years later. Rubio, now 54, has publicly opposed ending birthright citizenship, calling it a fundamental American principle.
Diane Guerrero
Best known for her role in Orange is the New Black, Guerrero was born in New Jersey to Colombian parents who were undocumented at the time. They were deported when she was just 14. In a 2019 NPR interview, Guerrero said, “This is a country of immigrants… It’s unfair to say that because people are coming later, they don’t deserve to be here.”
Nikki Haley
The former U.N. ambassador and 2024 GOP presidential contender was born in South Carolina to Indian immigrants from the Punjab region. Her parents were in the U.S. legally on visas but did not become citizens until after her birth. Under the Trump order, her status would likely be questioned.
Bruce Lee
The martial arts legend was born in San Francisco in 1940 while his parents were touring the U.S. with the Chinese Opera. At the time, his parents were not U.S. citizens, but under birthright citizenship, he was recognized as American. He returned to the U.S. at age 18 and became an international icon. Without birthright, he might never have been permitted to return.
Kamala Harris
Trump’s executive order appears tailored to target figures like former Vice President Kamala Harris. Born in California to a Jamaican father and Indian mother—both on student or temporary visas at the time—Harris would have been excluded from citizenship under the order’s criteria.
As David Bier of the Cato Institute noted, “Trump’s birthright citizenship EO includes a Kamala Harris clause,” referring to language in the order designed to invalidate citizenship for children of temporary visa holders.
Vivek Ramaswamy
The biotech entrepreneur and former 2024 Republican presidential candidate was born in Ohio to Indian immigrants. His mother did not become a citizen until after his birth, and his father never naturalized. Despite this, Ramaswamy has called for an end to birthright citizenship, even though he himself likely benefited from it.
The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the legality of Trump’s order, but by allowing it to go into effect, the nation’s highest court has opened the door to a seismic shift in who qualifies as an American citizen. Whether the lower courts will uphold or strike down the order remains to be seen—but for now, the status of millions of Americans born to immigrant parents hangs in the balance.
