The Issue 

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling issued on June 27, 2025, granted the Trump administration’s request to limit the scope of nationwide injunctions, thus allowing partial implementation of its Executive Order narrowing the scope of birthright citizenship under the Constitution. 

A Deeper Dive 

The basis for birthright citizenship can be found in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, which provides that “[a]ll 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.” 

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) denying citizenship to persons born from a mother who was unlawfully present in the United States and whose father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (LPR) at the time of birth, or when the mother’s presence in the United States at the time of the child’s birth was lawful but temporary and the father was not a U.S. citizen or LPR at the time of the child’s birth. The basis for the EO rests on the clause in the 14th Amendment that reads “subject to the jurisdiction thereof,” alleging that the clause excludes children of noncitizens in the U.S. unlawfully. 

Legal challenges to the EO were promptly filed and injunctions preventing implementation were issued in three separate federal courts. The Trump Administration appealed to the Supreme Court specifically on the issue of whether a nationwide injunction was legal. The Supreme Court’s decision allows the injunction to remain in effect with respect to the plaintiffs (a limited group of individuals, organizations and states) but permits enforcement of the EO in all other jurisdictions, pending a specific ruling on the constitutionality of the EO by the Supreme Court. 

What this Means for Employers and Employees 

The Supreme Court’s decision will likely result in an influx of legal challenges by jurisdictions no longer covered by the injunction. It is also foreseeable that processing of some applications for issuance of U.S. passports may be delayed as the Trump Administration develops procedures to implement the EO, which only applies to persons born in the United States 30 days after the Supreme Court’s decision (July 27, 2025). Meltzer Hellrung will continue to monitor this issue closely and provide updates as additional information becomes available. 

Please contact your Meltzer Hellrung attorney if you would like to discuss this issue in greater detail.