President Donald Trump celebrated on Friday as the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions issued by lower court judges against his executive order aiming to end birthright citizenship. “This was a significant win,” Trump remarked as he entered the White House briefing room.
Although Trump hailed the 6-3 court decision as a “monumental victory,” the justices did not address the constitutionality of his executive order and allowed legal challenges to proceed. Attorney General Pam Bondi noted that the justices will evaluate the merits of Trump’s order in the upcoming term, starting in October.
Trump and Bondi commended the conservative majority of the court for limiting a federal judge’s authority to block a president’s policy nationwide. They emphasized that Justice Amy Coney Barrett argued only the Supreme Court can grant such universal relief.
Nationwide injunctions have been a focal point of the administration’s ongoing conflict with the judiciary, impeding various Trump initiatives, including immigration enforcement and federal funding freezes.
Trump reiterated his support for his executive order aiming to deny citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary immigrant status. District court judges have contended that such action would contradict the 14th Amendment and established legal precedent.
The administration has argued in court that birthright citizenship incentivizes illegal immigration. “They used birthright citizenship, some of the worst people, some of the cartels, to get people into our country,” Trump stated.
While several Democrats swiftly criticized the court’s decision, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer labeled it a “green light” for Trump to undermine American democratic foundations.
“A significant move towards authoritarianism poses a serious threat to our democracy, and is a foreseeable action from this extreme MAGA court,” he stated on X. “By diminishing the authority of district courts to oversee the presidency, the Court is not safeguarding the Constitution, but rather tarnishing it.” “His proposal to abolish birthright citizenship is clearly unconstitutional, yet instead of halting it outright, the Court has evaded the issue and yielded to an unrestrained Executive Branch,” Schumer remarked. Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, described Friday as a “bleak day for our democracy.”
