On Jan. 20, 2025, newly reelected President Trump issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship.

The order, which will affect the children of designated parents who are born more than 30 days after the order was published, declares that the 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship provision does not apply to children born in the United States if their mother is an undocumented immigrant and their father is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident, or (2) the mother’s immigration status is lawful but only temporary and the father is not a citizen or a lawful permanent resident.

People objecting to that provision have filed lawsuits in U.S. district courts, claiming that it is unconstitutional. Three of the courts issued universal injunctions to prevent Trump from implementing his executive order during the course of the litigation. These injunctions barred federal officials from applying the order to anyone, not just to the plaintiffs in the three suits.

Then the Supreme Court granted a request from the Trump administration to stay the injunctions, “but only to the extent that the injunctions are broader than necessary to provide complete relief to each plaintiff with standing to sue.” The high court’s decision did not address the claim that Trump’s order violates the 14th Amendment, leaving it up to the three district courts to make the initial decision on that issue.

If the Supreme Court later chooses to........

© The Hill