Hours before the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team beat Australia in its second group stage match at the World Cup, the Department of Homeland Security took to social media platform X to support the American squad.

The government agency posted a photo of striker Folarin Balogun, flanked by teammates Sergiño Dest and Chris Richards, on the field at SoFi Stadium before a cheering crowd of fans. Superimposed at the top, in big, bold letters, was the phrase “Defend The Homeland,” with a smaller tagline that read, “One Nation. One Homeland. One Team.”

Balogun has been one of the early stars of the World Cup, minted by a two-goal performance in the USMNT’s opening match against Paraguay. Yet there was more than a hint of irony in the use of his image in DHS’s post, considering the circumstances of his American citizenship are representative of a policy that the Trump administration has attempted to eliminate.

Balogun was born 25 years ago in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Nigerian parents who were living in London at the time, after airline staff reportedly refused to let his then-seven-months-pregnant mother fly home from a trip to New York City. Under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, anyone born on U.S. soil is granted citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

President Donald Trump took aim at that doctrine from the very first day of his second term, signing an executive order in January 2025 that sought to outlaw what is commonly known as birthright citizenship. If enacted, that could have affected over 250,000 babies born in the U.S. annually, according to research from the Migration Policy Institute and Penn State’s Population Research Institute that was reported by Associated Press.

The executive order had been blocked in some lower courts and had yet to go into effect, but Trump’s restrictions ultimately will not come to pass. The Supreme Court voted in a divided majority, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh concurring and dissenting in part, to uphold citizenship for all future babies born in the U.S., even if it’s to those temporarily or illegally in the country. Any further changes would require a constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds supermajority of Congress or a national convention to propose the act and then ratification from three-fourths of the states.

That ruling was largely expected, and in doing so, it protects the citizenship of many athletes who may go on to compete for the U.S. at the international level across many sports. Either way, it would not have stripped the rights of existing citizens. In addition to Balogun, Yunus Musah, who played for the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup but didn’t make the squad this time around, was also born in New York City while his Ghanaian mother was on vacation.

Reflecting on the unexpected circumstances of her son’s birth in 2023, Balogun’s mother told ESPN “I don’t believe things happened by luck.” A top prospect coming through Arsenal‘s youth academy, Balogun, when healthy, has starred at AS Monaco in France and is now rumored to be a transfer target of big London clubs Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the EPL, as well as Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain.

When it came to the country he wanted to represent, Balogun had his choice of the U.S., England and Nigeria. After representing England at the youth international level, he decided in 2023 to switch to the U.S. and was granted a one-time change of association by FIFA. That move has allowed him to shine on the pitch, and potentially off it one day.

With England, Balogun may have been overshadowed by Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and a gifted Three Lions squad that currently has the fourth-best odds, at +700, to win the World Cup, according to DraftKings. Nigeria, meanwhile, failed to qualify for this year’s tournament. Instead, the 24-year-old striker has become a focal point of the USMNT’s attack. And while his story is not the only factor that determines his viability as a pitchman, it could endear Balogun to marketers in the States.

“I see American brands engaging with him saying, ‘Hey, he chose us,’” Alex Soriano, the vice president of global partnerships at Innovative Partnerships Group, said. “It’s important where the player is from, but he needs to play in a relevant league or team to get all of that commercial opportunity behind them.”

If Balogun continues his strong play, he may become one of the USMNT’s highest-paid players sooner rather than later. It’s only possible because of a more than 150-year-old law—one that got a big assist Tuesday from America’s highest court.