With President Donald Trump present, US Supreme Court justices signalled scepticism yesterday towards the legality of his directive to restrict birthright citizenship in the US, part of his hardline immigration approach that would upend the long-held understanding of a key constitutional provision.
In his historic visit to the top US judicial body, Trump sat in the front row of the public gallery of the ornate courtroom after arriving by motorcade from the White House.
The Republican president left midway through the proceedings not long after the Justice Department lawyer arguing for his administration completed his presentation.
Most of the nine justices, conservatives and liberals alike, grilled the lawyer with questions about the legal validity of Trump’s executive order and its practical implications.
The court has a 6-3 conservative majority.
The justices heard more than two hours of arguments in the administration’s appeal of a lower court’s decision that blocked his directive.
Trump’s order had instructed US agencies not to recognise the citizenship of children born in the US if neither parent is an American citizen or legal permanent resident, also called a “green card” holder.
Trump became the first sitting president to attend a Supreme Court oral argument, according to Clare Cushman, the Supreme Court Historical Society’s resident historian.
Joined by White House Counsel David Warrington, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Attorney General Pamela Bondi, Trump was at the courthouse for a bit more than an hour and a half.
The US is among 33 countries with automatic birthright citizenship policies.
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