On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the ongoing legal battle surrounding birthright citizenship. Unfortunately, the decision failed to address the substance of the executive order, and its decision was focused on whether lower federal courts have the authority to issue nationwide injunctions.
Background
On the first day of his presidency, Donald Trump signed an executive order challenging the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship to individuals born within the United States. The order seeks to deny citizenship to children born to parents who are unlawfully present in the U.S. or on temporary visas, such as work, study, and tourism visas. This executive order has been met with widespread legal challenges, arguing that it contradicts the Fourteenth Amendment’s intent to prevent any administration from stripping individuals born in the U.S. of their citizenship.
Supreme Court’s Decision
In a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court held that federal district courts do not have the authority to issue universal (nationwide) injunctions in cases challenging the executive order.
However, the Court did not decide whether the executive order itself is constitutional. Instead, the ruling sends the case back to the lower courts to continue litigation on the merits, limiting the immediate nationwide impact of any ruling against the executive order.
Conclusion
This decision failed to address the constitutional right of birthright citizenship and instead limited the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions. This decision severely limits lower court’s ability to rule on unconstitutional government actions and will allow the Trump administration to make new policies, with little or no oversight. Under the previous Trump administration, several nationwide injunctions were issued, preventing the government from implementing its policies. Without nationwide injunctions, the government will be able to enforce new policies, even those that are very obviously in direct violation of the law. This decision delivers a significant setback to the immigration community as a whole.
Moving forward, a lower federal court’s decision will be limited to the parties in the lawsuit, requiring everyone affected to either sue individually or as part of a larger class action. This decision will likely now result in a massive influx of federal lawsuits, clogging up the courts and leaving many without any protection. Filing a lawsuit is often costly, emotionally taxing, and uncertain, and many individuals simply lack the financial resources or emotional resilience to pursue this option.
Trump’s executive order is set to take effect in 30 days, unless blocked or modified by a decision in the lower courts. We will provide further updates as new developments arise.