Supreme Court To Hear Trump’s Bid to Restrict Birthright Citizenship
The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments Thursday on whether President Donald Trump's executive order to restrict birthright citizenship can go into effect in parts of the country, despite ongoing legal challenges. The executive order, signed on his first day back in office, declares that U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants or temporary visa holders are not entitled to citizenship. Federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington quickly blocked the policy, prompting the administration to ask the Supreme Court to narrow those injunctions.
Instead of directly tackling whether the order violates the 14th Amendment, the Court is focusing on whether lower courts have the power to issue nationwide injunctions. The administration argues that judges should not block policies for the entire country unless every impacted party is part of the lawsuit. If the justices agree, Trump could partially enforce the order in up to 28 states that didn’t join the legal challenge — affecting potentially thousands of U.S.-born children.
Critics of the order argue that it defies the Constitution, which states that anyone born in the U.S. is a citizen, and immigration advocates say ending birthright citizenship would create a generation of children in legal limbo. While the Court hasn’t decided on the policy's legality yet, Thursday’s hearing could have broad implications for presidential power and future executive actions.
