Birthright Citizenship: Trump hails ‘giant win’ after Supreme Court limits judicial blocks over citizenship directive

The US Supreme Court on June 27 handed a procedural victory to former President Donald Trump, ruling that federal judges went too far in blocking his executive order aimed at curbing birthright citizenship. The decision, while significant for executive power, stops short of deciding whether Trump’s proposed limits on citizenship for US-born children of non-citizens are constitutional, Reuters reported.

The court’s opinion, authored by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, orders lower courts in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington state to revisit the sweeping nationwide injunctions they imposed against Trump’s directive. Those injunctions had entirely halted enforcement of his order, which seeks to deny US citizenship to children born on American soil unless at least one parent is a US citizen or lawful permanent resident.

“GIANT WIN in the United States Supreme Court! Even the Birthright Citizenship Hoax has been, indirectly, hit hard. It had to do with the babies of slaves (same year!), not the SCAMMING of our Immigration process. Congratulations to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Solicitor General John Sauer, and the entire DOJ. News Conference at the White House, 11:30 A.M. EST,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump hailed the ruling as “an amazing decision, one that we're very happy about,” declaring that the court “delivered a monumental victory for the Constitution, the separation of powers and the rule of law, in striking down the excessive use of nationwide injunctions to interfere with the normal functioning of the executive branch.”

Pressed on concerns that the ruling might centralize too much power in the presidency, Trump responded, “This really brings back the Constitution. This is what it's all about, and this is really the opposite of that.”

The Supreme Court’s decision does not weigh in on the underlying legality of Trump’s policy, focusing only on whether judges can impose injunctions with nationwide effect. Trump and his allies have repeatedly condemned federal judges who block parts of his agenda, though nationwide injunctions have been used by courts under previous administrations as well.

Under the 14th Amendment, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” Historically, the only recognized exception has been for children born to foreign diplomats.

Trump seeks to reinterpret the constitutional language, aiming to restrict birthright citizenship only to children of US citizens or lawful permanent residents. His executive order, issued on his first day in office in January, faced immediate legal challenges and has been blocked by every court that has reviewed it so far. At the Supreme Court, cases from Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington state were at stake. Trump’s plan has drawn support from 21 other states.