Amid the ongoing legal dispute at the US Supreme Court regarding the Trump administration’s efforts to limit birthright citizenship, an Indian-American attorney has emerged as a notable advocate for its protection. Smita Ghosh, a Senior Appellate Counsel at the Constitutional Accountability Centre (CAC), is actively involved in challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order that aims to restrict citizenship to individuals born on American territory.
Playing a pivotal role in contesting Trump’s Executive Order 14160, signed on January 20, 2025, which opposes the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution establishing birthright citizenship, Ghosh is at the forefront of the legal battle.
The executive order issued by Trump instructs federal agencies to withhold US citizenship from specific children born in the US after February 19, 2025, if their mother was unlawfully or temporarily present in the country and their father lacked US citizenship or lawful permanent residency.
Ghosh’s arguments play a vital role in the Trump v. Barbara case at the US Supreme Court. Referencing a case from 1844, she contends that Trump’s executive order invalidating birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. Ghosh is the primary author of the ‘Brief of Scholars of Constitutional Law and Immigration’, which draws on legal precedents and forms the foundation of the legal opposition to Trump’s executive order.
Reports indicate that Trump was the first US president in history to attend oral arguments at the Supreme Court, underscoring the significance of the case. With approximately 250,000 children born to undocumented parents in the US each year, the outcome of this case will have a profound impact on their future.
SMITA GHOSH TAUGHT IMMIGRATION LAW AT UPENN
According to her profile at CAC, Ghosh holds a Juris Doctor (JD) from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a PhD in American Legal History from the same institution. Before joining CAC, she was a research fellow at Georgetown University Law Centre, where she specialized in immigration and separation-of-powers law. Her background also includes serving as a Supreme Court Fellow at the US Sentencing Commission and clerking for a federal judge.
She co-authored the “Brief of Scholars of Constitutional Law and Immigration” in support of the challengers in Trump v. Barbara, a nationwide class-action lawsuit currently before the US Supreme Court.
In the brief, Ghosh and her colleagues underscored the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which states that “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens.” Enacted in 1868 post-Civil War, the amendment solidified birthright citizenship (jus soli) in the Constitution, extending it to formerly enslaved individuals and others born on US soil.
Multiple lower courts have halted the enforcement of Trump’s executive order.
Last July, the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire granted a preliminary injunction to prevent its implementation. On April 1, 2026, the Supreme Court conducted oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, with