Supreme Court to hear Trump birthright-citizenship case in spring; New Hampshire class action at issue
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the spring and could issue a decision by early summer on the constitutionality of former President Trump’s birthright-citizenship order; the case originates in a New Hampshire class action in which a federal judge blocked the order for a class including all affected children, and lower courts have largely concluded the order violates or likely violates the 14th Amendment. The administration has also sought review of an appeals-court ruling that led to a nationwide injunction in suits brought by Democratic-led states, and the Court’s recent limits on nationwide injunctions left open that class actions and certain state suits can still have nationwide effect.
📌 Key Facts
- The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in the spring on the birthright-citizenship dispute, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.
- The case originates from a New Hampshire class-action suit; a federal judge in July blocked the president’s birthright-citizenship order for a class that includes all affected children.
- Lower courts that reviewed the order have uniformly concluded it violates, or likely violates, the 14th Amendment.
- A July 9th U.S. Court of Appeals ruling held that Democratic-led states were entitled to a nationwide injunction against the order; the administration sought Supreme Court review of that decision.
- The Supreme Court’s late-June ruling limiting nationwide injunctions clarified that class actions and certain state suits can still have nationwide effect — a legal point directly relevant to the New Hampshire class-action case.
- The case comes amid mixed Supreme Court emergency rulings on other Trump immigration measures (for example, blocking use of the Alien Enemies Act for rapid deportations, allowing sweeping Los Angeles immigration pauses, and weighing a request to deploy the National Guard in Chicago), which provide broader context for how the Court is handling related immigration disputes.
📊 Relevant Data
Approximately 300,000 babies were born in the U.S. to unauthorized immigrant parents in 2023.
U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reached a Record 14 Million in 2023 — Pew Research Center
About 4.6 million U.S.-born children under 18 lived with at least one unauthorized immigrant parent in 2023.
U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reached a Record 14 Million in 2023 — Pew Research Center
In 2023, 84% of the estimated 13.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the US were from Latin America (68% from Mexico and Central America, 4% from the Caribbean, and 12% from South America), while Hispanics comprise about 19.5% of the total U.S. population.
Profile of the Unauthorized Population - US — Migration Policy Institute
Approximately 70,000 births to long-term temporary visitors (such as guestworkers, foreign students, exchange participants, and members of the diplomatic corps) occurred in the US in 2023.
Births to Illegal Immigrants and Long-Term Temporary Visitors — Center for Immigration Studies
📊 Analysis & Commentary (2)
"A critical deep-dive arguing that efforts to abolish birthright citizenship—now headed to the Supreme Court—are constitutionally shaky, politically driven, and would produce severe administrative and humanitarian consequences even if ultimately rejected by the courts."
"Jill Lepore argues that contentious constitutional disputes — exemplified by the birthright‑citizenship fight now before the Supreme Court — are better settled through the democratic, stabilizing process of amendment than by litigation or unilateral executive moves."
📰 Sources (2)
- Arguments are scheduled for the spring, with a definitive ruling expected by early summer.
- The case before the Court stems from a New Hampshire class action; a federal judge in July blocked the order for a class including all affected children.
- A separate July 9th Circuit ruling held that Democratic-led states needed a nationwide injunction; the administration also sought Supreme Court review of that decision.
- The article notes SCOTUS’s late-June ruling limiting nationwide injunctions but clarifying that class actions and certain state suits may still have nationwide effect.
- Context: The Court has issued mixed emergency orders on other Trump immigration measures (e.g., halted use of the Alien Enemies Act for rapid deportations; allowed sweeping LA immigration stops; is weighing a request to deploy National Guard in Chicago).
- Lower courts that reviewed the order have uniformly concluded it violates, or likely violates, the 14th Amendment.