Supreme Court Limits Nationwide Injunctions, Impacting Birthright Citizenship Executive Order

On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a ruling to limit the ability of federal district judges to issue broad nationwide injunctions. This decision was issued in connection with several legal challenges to prevent the implementation and enforcement of President Trump’s Executive Order (“EO”) concerning Birthright Citizenship.  While the decision did not address the constitutionality of the EO, it does mark a significant shift in judicial power regarding federal policies and the scope of injunctions, which have been used in the past to halt the implementation of immigration-related EOs.

Birthright Citizenship

Jus soli et jus sanguinis (right of soil and right of blood) are foundational principles adopted by the United States to determine the right of citizenship. With very few exceptions, individuals born on U.S. soil or born to parents who are U.S. citizens are considered to be U.S. citizens at birth. These rights are codified in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, in what is known as the Citizenship Clause, which provides that: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

The President’s Executive Order & Legal Challenges

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued the EO, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”, which provided that the Citizenship Clause did not apply to individuals born in the U.S. to parents who are undocumented or who are in a temporary nonimmigrant visa classification. Soon after the EO was released, numerous lawsuits were filed by individuals, organizations and 22 state governments to block changes to the longstanding U.S. citizenship rule. Following these lawsuits, three federal district courts issued injunctions against the implementation of the EO.

The Trump administration sought a partial stay on the federal district court injunctions in the respective appellate courts and eventually, the Supreme Court in Trump v. Casa, Inc. The Court agreed to hear the administration’s request, consolidating three of the cases, including two lawsuits filed by states and a lawsuit filed by CASA, a nonprofit organization, on behalf of individual pregnant women members.

The Supreme Court’s Ruling

The Court’s ruling did not address whether the EO was unconstitutional. Instead, the ruling concerned whether federal courts had the authority to issue “universal” or broad injunctions that blocked government policies to anyone that was impacted. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court found that federal courts did not have that authority.  The decision confirmed that injunctions should be limited to providing relief to specific plaintiffs named in a lawsuit.

The Court granted the Trump administration’s applications for a partial stay of the injunctions to the extent that they were broader than necessary. As a result of the ruling, the EO could take effect on July 27, 2025 (30 days from the date of the Court’s decision), impacting any child born to undocumented parents or parents in temporary nonimmigrant visa status on or after Feb. 19, 2025. Soon after the decision was released, several new lawsuits were re-filed as class-actions to further impede the implementation of the EO.

As of today’s date, the administration has not yet announced how the policy would be enforced.

What Employers Need to Know

There is no immediate change to the status of children born in the U.S. to parents who are undocumented or who are in a temporary nonimmigrant visa classification and the administration has not provided any specifics on how it intends to enforce the policy if the EO is implemented. Given the ongoing litigation, it could still take several months for any changes to occur.

If the EO survives further judicial scrutiny and class challenges, families of employees currently in the U.S. in nonimmigrant visa status, such as H-1B, L-1, E-2, etc. with children born on or after February 19, 2025 may be impacted if the new policy on Birthright Citizenship is implemented. In such an event, the immigration status of any children born in the U.S. to undocumented or nonimmigrant parents, who previously would be considered U.S. citizens, would need to be addressed.  Generally an EO may not be implemented retroactively and, as such, any potential impact analysis should be focused on children born to parents who are undocumented or who hold temporary nonimmigrant visa status after February 19, 2025.

The ruling brings into sharp focus the issue of potentially dangerous consequences resulting from limitations now placed on the authority of federal courts to efficiently grant relief in response to challenges made to EOs issued by any presidential administration going forward. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, these limitations could result in faster implementation and enforcement of EOs in the future which could result in less time to fully weigh the likely result.

Gibney is closely monitoring these developments and will provide additional updates as they are announced.  This alert is solely for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.  If you have questions or require assistance, please contact your Gibney representative or email info@gibney.com.