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SCOTUS blocks Trump order
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 30 struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship in Trump v. Barbara, finding it violated the 14th Amendment.
“The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on June 30 that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by signing an executive order to deny citizenship to children born in the United States to parents who lack legal immigration status”
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that “Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights — to freely participate in our political community,” and the Court said “We keep that promise today.”
The decision came as the Court issued its opinions for its 2025-2026 period, with John Roberts confirming that it would release all pending opinions on Tuesday 30 de junio.
The ruling also followed the Court’s 6-3 decision allowing the government to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians living in the U.S., according to the BBC’s roundup of the term’s outcomes.
Justice and enforcement shifts
In the hours after the Supreme Court defeat, Politico reported that White House aides and allies discussed redirecting the administration’s effort to curtail illegal immigration toward policies targeting women who come to the U.S. to give birth so their child will automatically be a citizen.
An administration official told Politico, “Going forward, the administration will continue its fight against pull factors for illegal immigration and aliens with fraudulent intent to enter the U.S. solely to have children here,” and Politico described internal discussions about prosecuting organizations or individuals involved in “birth tourism.”
The Justice Department then directed its staff to prioritize “birth tourism” schemes, with The Hill saying a memo from the office of the deputy attorney general told all criminal division staff to “prioritize the investigation and prosecution of birth tourism schemes.”
The Hill also quoted Colin McDonald, head of the Justice Department’s fraud division, writing in the memo that “The Department of Justice will zealously protect the sanctity of United States citizenship by investigating and prosecuting those who fraudulently exploit our immigration system,” as prosecutors considered statutes including wire fraud and money laundering.
Aftermath, politics, and fallout
USA Today reported that Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented in a written dissent from the June 30 ruling, saying he would have been open to a constitutional challenge later if the Trump administration applied the order to deny citizenship to children whose parents have unlawfully made their permanent home in the country.
Gorsuch wrote, “I harbor doubts,” about the administration’s argument that denying citizenship to that first group of children “can survive any possible legal challenge,” and the same article described how the majority opinion was written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and grounded citizenship in “soil – not blood.”
The BBC’s term recap placed the decision alongside other Supreme Court actions, including blocking attempts to immediately fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and allowing the government to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians living in the U.S.
In its coverage of the birthright ruling, the BBC also said the Court ruled that states can ban transgender women from competing in female school and college sports, while noting Chief Justice John Roberts indicated today would be the last day for opinions.
