Supreme Court Lifts Nationwide Block on Trump’s Executive Order Limiting Birthright Citizenship
Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the nationwide ban on enforcing Executive Order 14160, issued by President Trump. This Executive Order limits birthright citizenship to individuals born in the U.S. only if they have at least one U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident parent.
Importantly, the Court did not decide whether the Executive Order violates the U.S. Constitution, which has long been interpreted to grant citizenship to anyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. Instead, the Court focused on a procedural issue: whether lower federal courts have the authority to issue nationwide injunctions while a case is still being litigated.
In a 6–3 decision written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the majority held that nationwide injunctions exceed the authority of federal courts under the Judiciary Act of 1789, calling them an overreach of judicial power.
The ruling comes in response to three lawsuits brought by 22 states and immigrant rights organizations, which argued that the Executive Order is unconstitutional. Federal district courts initially agreed that the order was likely unlawful and issued preliminary injunctions to block its implementation nationwide while the legal challenges proceeded. The lower courts reasoned that geographically limited injunctions would not offer meaningful protection—particularly because one of the plaintiffs, a national immigrants’ rights group, has over 680,000 members across all 50 states, many of whom frequently relocate.
As the dissenting justices noted, the lower courts found a nationwide injunction necessary to prevent harm from a potentially unconstitutional policy. The Supreme Court’s majority did not address the substance of the constitutional challenge but, as the dissent emphasized, the ruling leaves the door open for the Executive Branch to implement sweeping policies while avoiding judicial review—an “open invitation for the Government to bypass the Constitution.”
In response to the ruling, the ACLU and other civil rights groups filed a new nationwide class action lawsuit challenging Executive Order 14160.
Unless and until a court rules definitively on the Executive Order’s legality, there is a real possibility that birthright citizenship will be applied inconsistently across the country. For example, children born in states actively challenging the order, such as California or Maine, may continue to receive U.S. citizenship—while those born in states that do not challenge the order, like Florida or Texas, may not.
This case marks yet another Supreme Court decision that appears increasingly aligned with the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda.
The alert is for informational purposes only. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this development further