In a sharply divided decision, the US Supreme Court on Friday ruled that individual federal judges do not have the authority to issue nationwide injunctions blocking executive orders, handing a victory to former President Donald Trump — but leaving the fate of his restrictions on birthright citizenship uncertain.
Trump hailed the decision as a “monumental victory” and vowed to “promptly file” to advance policies previously blocked by lower courts, including his executive order aimed at denying citizenship to US-born children of undocumented immigrants.
Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett said that lower courts will now need to tailor their rulings more narrowly, applying them only to the parties before them. The cases over birthright citizenship will return to lower courts for further proceedings under these new guidelines.
The ruling aligns with arguments from both Trump’s Republican administration and President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, which agreed that federal judges had overstepped their authority by issuing broad, nationwide orders.
However, Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a blistering dissent, warning the decision invites the government to skirt constitutional protections. She argued that under the ruling, an administration could enforce a policy even after it has been deemed unconstitutional by a lower court.
Birthright citizenship, guaranteed under the 14th Amendment adopted after the Civil War, grants automatic US citizenship to anyone born on American soil, including children of undocumented immigrants. In the landmark 1898 case United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court affirmed that only children of diplomats, enemy forces, or members of sovereign Native American tribes were exceptions to the rule.
Trump and his allies have long sought to toughen the requirements for birthright citizenship, calling it “a priceless and profound gift” and claiming children of noncitizens are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the US, a phrase found in the 14th Amendment.
Multiple lawsuits by states, immigrants, and rights groups challenged Trump’s executive order, accusing his administration of attempting to dismantle a longstanding interpretation of the Constitution. Lower courts have so far ruled uniformly against Trump’s plan.
The Justice Department argued judges lacked authority to impose nationwide blocks and asked the Supreme Court to allow Trump’s order to apply everywhere except for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits — or, at minimum, limit the injunction to the 22 states that sued.
The Supreme Court’s decision now sends the matter back to the lower courts, which must reassess their injunctions to comply with the new ruling, leaving Trump’s controversial restrictions on birthright citizenship in legal limbo for now.
