Birthright Citizenship Debate Continues

The Supreme Court appeared undecided yesterday on whether lower courts can implement nationwide—rather than more limited—injunctions on presidential orders. The case stems from President Donald Trump’s January executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship, which has been blocked nationwide by three federal lower court judges.

Birthright citizenship offers full legal rights to anyone born in the US regardless of immigration status (read 101). It has been the legal precedent in the US since the passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868. The administration argues this practice does not include children born to parents in the country without legal status and claims it incentivizes unauthorized migration. Critics of the administration say overturning the practice would create a second-class group of noncitizens in the US.

The justices debated whether universal injunctions—whose use by lower courts has increased significantly in the last decade—could be replaced by class-action lawsuits, which require more stringent review. A decision is expected this summer.