In birthright citizenship case, US Supreme Court gets two controversies in one

13/5/2025 19:25

One of President Donald Trump's most contentious policies - his attempt to restrict automatic birthright citizenship - arrives at the U.S. Supreme Court this week with an unusual twist: The justices may focus on something else entirely.



Federal judges in Washington state, Massachusetts and Maryland issued orders blocking Trump's January executive order nationwide, finding the directive likely violated language in the U.S. Constitution concerning citizenship for babies born in the United States.



But through an emergency filing, Trump's administration has focused the Supreme Court's attention not on the legality of the action by the Republican president but rather on the permissibility of the actions by the three judges - whether federal judges should have the power to issue broad orders that block challenged polices on a nationwide, or "universal," basis.



The administration asked the court to narrow the injunctions to let the government enforce Trump's directive - part of his hardline approach to immigration - to the greatest extent possible while the legal fight over the policy plays out.