In a Friday ruling, the United States Supreme Court limited the scope of nationwide injunctions by lower courts in a case involving President Donald Trump's executive order to eliminate birthright citizenship.
The court did not rule on the constitutionality of President Trump's executive order. But the ruling effectively allows President Trump to begin enforcing his executive order, pending legal challenges at the lower court level. The court ruled by a 6-3 majority, with the court's three liberal judges in the minority.
The case could have implications far beyond the birthright citizenship case.
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What does Trump's executive order on birthright citizenship mean?
The Supreme Court considered whether lower courts can issue nationwide injunctions. President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office that would no longer automatically grant citizenship at birth to children of immigrants in the U.S. without legal status.
One day later, 22 states signed onto lawsuits to stop the order from being enforced.
The Democratic-led states argue that birthright citizenship is a right for all people born in the U.S. under the 14th Amendment, which was enacted in 1868.
In the following weeks, several district court judges issued injunctions stopping the Trump administration from implementing the order. The Trump administration argued that federal district court judges should not be able to issue such wide injunctions.
Birthright citizenship grants U.S. citizenship to all children born in the U.S., regardless of their parents' immigration status.
