The Trump administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to uphold President Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship, the long-held principle that children born on American soil are automatically citizens.

Mr. Trump issued the order on his first day in office, but it has been blocked by the courts ever since.

In a pair of petitions, government lawyers argued that the Constitution’s promise of citizenship was conferred on “freed slaves and their children, not on the children of aliens temporarily visiting the United States or of illegal aliens.”

The common understanding of the 14th Amendment for more than a century, upheld by the Supreme Court, has guaranteed citizenship to children born in the United States. But D. John Sauer, the solicitor general, argued that such a view was “mistaken,” according to the filings, which were reviewed by The New York Times but have not yet appeared in the court’s public case-tracking system.

If the justices were to take the case, the court could hear arguments on the matter during its upcoming term, which is set to begin in early October. Decisions are typically announced by late June or early July.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.