US Supreme Court limits nationwide blocks on Trump’s birthright citizenship order

US Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions in Trump birthright citizenship case

The US Supreme Court on Tuesday handed President Donald Trump a significant procedural victory by curbing the power of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions, a ruling that could allow parts of his executive order restricting birthright citizenship to take effect while legal challenges continue.

In a 6-3 decision, the court did not rule on the constitutionality of Trump’s birthright citizenship order. Instead, it held that federal judges generally cannot issue sweeping nationwide injunctions that block government policies across the country, sending the cases back to lower courts to reconsider the scope of their orders.

The executive order, signed by Trump on his first day back in office in January 2025, seeks to deny automatic US citizenship to children born in the country if neither parent is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. It primarily targets children born to undocumented immigrants and certain temporary visa holders.

The ruling means the administration could begin enforcing the order in parts of the country where it is not blocked, although the policy still faces multiple constitutional challenges.

The dispute centres on the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment, which states that “all persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”

For more than 150 years, the provision has generally been interpreted to guarantee citizenship to nearly everyone born on US soil, regardless of their parents’ immigration status, except in limited cases such as children of foreign diplomats.

Trump’s administration argues that the phrase “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” should be interpreted more narrowly, excluding children of people who are in the US illegally or temporarily. Opponents contend that this interpretation contradicts the Constitution and longstanding Supreme Court precedent.

The case before the Supreme Court arose from lawsuits filed by states, immigrant rights groups and affected families challenging the executive order. While the justices narrowed the reach of nationwide injunctions, they left unresolved the broader constitutional question of whether Trump’s order itself is lawful.

As a result, litigation over the policy is expected to continue in lower courts, with the issue likely to return to the Supreme Court for a final ruling on the merits.