The conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court has once again sided with Donald Trump.
On Friday, the nation’s highest court issued a ruling that limits the authority of federal judges to block government policies on a nationwide scale.
While the decision was welcomed by the Trump administration, it leaves unresolved the fate of a controversial presidential order aimed at restricting birthright citizenship.
In a divided opinion, the Court’s conservative majority concluded that nationwide injunctions — which prevent a law or executive order from being enforced across the entire country — exceed the powers of a single federal judge. However, the justices stopped short of issuing a definitive ruling on Trump’s executive order that seeks to deny automatic U.S. citizenship to children born on American soil to undocumented immigrants.
This measure, one of the most controversial initiatives of Trump’s new term, directly challenges the long-established interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Ratified after the Civil War, the amendment guarantees American citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
In a landmark 1898 case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court ruled that nearly all children born on U.S. soil are entitled to citizenship — with exceptions for children of foreign diplomats, enemy occupiers during wartime, or members of sovereign Native American tribes.
As reported by the Associated Press, the United States is one of about 30 countries that still follow the jus soli principle — the right of the soil — along with Canada and Mexico.
The Trump administration contends that children born to undocumented immigrants are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States, as phrased in the 14th Amendment, and therefore should not automatically receive citizenship.
However, federal courts — responding to lawsuits filed by states and immigrant rights organizations — have consistently rejected this interpretation.
The Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court that federal judges should not be able to issue nationwide rulings, and that any injunctions should apply only to the plaintiffs involved in the case. The administration also asked that any legal blocks be confined to the 22 states participating in the lawsuit.
As a fallback, the Trump administration requested permission to publicly announce how it plans to implement the order, should it ultimately be upheld.
Despite Friday’s ruling narrowing the scope of judicial authority on nationwide injunctions, the decision does not invalidate those already in place. As such, the future of President Trump’s birthright citizenship order remains uncertain, pending further judicial review.
Source: Reuters
