The Supreme Court's hearing on birthright citizenship turned heated as Solicitor General John Sauer clashed with Chief Justice John Roberts.
Sauer argued that there is a 'new world' where billions of people are a flight away from the US, but Chief Roberts countered that it's a 'new world, but the same Constitution.'
The debate centered around Trump's order to end birthright citizenship for children born in the US to someone in the country illegally or temporarily.
Sauer argued that the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause was never intended to apply broadly to all individuals born on US soil, but rather to grant citizenship to the newly freed slaves and their children.
However, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Neil Gorsuch, and Elena Kagan raised concerns over the administration's position, questioning the scope of the argument and the historical basis for it.
The debate returned to the origins of the 14th Amendment, with Justice Clarence Thomas asking whether immigration had played any meaningful role in those discussions.
The Supreme Court's ruling could have far-reaching consequences, with opponents of the administration's view pointing to long-standing precedent and the 1898 Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.
