The U.S. Supreme Court, on June 27, made an important decision in a case regarding birthright citizenship called Trump v. CASA, Inc.

 

The most important things you need to know are these:

  1. The Court did not rule on birthright citizenship: The Supreme Court did not say whether President Trump’s executive order, which seeks to limit birthright citizenship, is constitutional or not. That issue remains pending.
  2. Limitation on judges: What the Court did decide, by a 6-3 vote, is that lower-level federal judges cannot issue orders that block government policy nationwide (what are known as “nationwide injunctions” or “universal injunctions”).
  3. Why? The majority of the justices said that these broad orders go beyond the authority that Congress gave to the courts. Judges should only provide relief to the specific individuals or groups who filed the lawsuit, not to everyone in the country.
  4. What does this mean? Although Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship does not go into effect immediately (there’s a 30-day period), now the judges who had blocked it will have to limit their orders to only affect the original plaintiffs.
  5. How can a nationwide block be sought now? The Court suggested that, if an action affecting the entire country is desired, class action lawsuits (or “class actions”) must be filed, which have stricter legal requirements.

In summary, this decision is a victory for the executive branch, as it limits the ability of judges to halt government policies nationwide. However, the main question about birthright citizenship remains unanswered. This question will continue in litigation and will likely need to be decided by the Supreme Court in the future.

 

Immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other civil rights groups filed a nationwide class action lawsuit designed to circumvent the limits imposed in the case of Trump v. CASA.

Attorney Stefan Latorre has offices in Charlotte, Monroe, Greensboro, Durham, Hickory, Wilmington, Winston Salem and Raleigh in North Carolina; in Columbia, Greenville and Charleston in South Carolina; and Jacksonville and Orlando in Florida. For a consultation call 1.800.966.6769.