Donald Trump has taken his push to end birthright citizenship in the United States to the Supreme Court, after lower courts blocked his executive order on the issue.
The controversial order, signed on Trump’s first day back in office, seeks to deny citizenship to children born in the U.S. to parents who are in the country illegally.
Federal judges in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington state ruled against the move, prompting the Justice Department to seek Supreme Court intervention.
In an emergency application, acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris asked the justices to limit the scope of the injunctions, arguing that lower court rulings should apply only to the specific plaintiffs in each case.
However, the administration did not request an immediate ruling on the constitutionality of ending birthright citizenship.
Harris criticised the increasing number of nationwide injunctions against Trump’s policies, calling them an epidemic that hinders the executive branch.
Trump has faced significant legal pushback on immigration, government budget cuts, and federal workforce reductions.
On Thursday, a California judge ordered six federal agencies to reinstate thousands of probationary employees who had been dismissed.
The case centres on the 14th Amendment, which grants U.S. citizenship to all persons born on American soil.
Trump’s executive order argues that those in the country illegally or on visas are not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the U.S. and therefore should not receive citizenship.
Judge John Coughenour, a Republican appointee in Washington state, called the order blatantly unconstitutional, saying he had never seen a case where the legal question was so clear.
With the conservative-majority Supreme Court—including three justices appointed by Trump—expected to weigh in on the case, the ruling could have significant implications for U.S. immigration law.
