As it happened: Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions but leaves fate of birthright citizenship unclear

Sal Christ and Luena Rodriguez-Feo Vileira, AP News
Jun 27
2 min read

The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

A divided Supreme Court ruled that individual judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions, but the decision left unclear the fate of President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting birthright citizenship.

The court on Friday issued decisions on the final six cases that were left on its docket for the summer, including emergency appeals relating to Trump’s agenda.

What to know:

What’s the status of birthright citizenship? That’s unclear. Trump’s order aims to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of people who are in the country illegally. The court’s conservative majority left open the possibility that the birthright citizenship changes could remain blocked nationwide.
What does the ruling mean for Trump? The court’s ruling on injunctions was a victory for the president, who has complained about individual judges throwing up obstacles to his agenda. “It’s a giant,” Trump said of the ruling. Though different in magnitude, nationwide injunctions hampered former President Joe Biden’s administration as well.
What happens next? The president said he would try to advance restrictions on birthright citizenship and other policies that had been blocked by district courts. One of the groups that challenged Trump’s order quickly went back to court seeking to keep his new restrictions on birthright citizenship at bay.
What else did the court decide? The court sided with Maryland parents with religious objections to school book material, preserved a key part of an Obamacare coverage requirement, upheld a law aimed at blocking kids from seeing pornography online and maintained a fee subsidizing phone and internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas.