What the Supreme Court’s Ruling Will Mean for Birthright Citizenship

On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order intended to end birthright citizenship, a foundational principle that grants U.S. citizenship to all children born on U.S. soil. That right has been enshrined in the Constitution for more than 160 years.

Lawsuits challenging the directive were swiftly filed, and judges in several states issued nationwide injunctions to stop the order from going into effect. But on Friday, the Supreme Court sided largely with the Trump administration. Though it did not rule on the constitutionality of the executive order on birthright citizenship, it did reject the nationwide injunctions that had blocked the order — clearing the way for it to be applied, at least temporarily, in a majority of states.

That leaves a lot of questions. Will babies born to undocumented immigrants in some states be entitled to citizenship, but not in others? Can children born to such parents in states where the order is in effect be deported? Will a new court challenge start the argument all over again?

Nothing is certain. But here’s a look at how the next chapter of the debate is likely to unfold.

Do the birthright citizenship restrictions now take immediate effect?

No. Immigrant rights groups and 22 states, all with Democratic leadership, had sued over the birthright citizenship order, and three federal district courts vacated the policy. Among those states were Arizona, California, Maryland, New York, North Carolina and Washington. Challengers in those states will most likely try again.

In 28 states that had not challenged the order, such as Arkansas, Mississippi, North Dakota and Texas, the order can go into effect. But the Supreme Court imposed a 30-day delay before that can happen, leaving time for any new legal maneuvers.

What’s next for the legal challenges?

While the Supreme Court rejected the ability of a single federal judge to block enforcement of a presidential order across the country, the justices did carve out other legal pathways for those trying to challenge an executive order such as the birthright citizenship measure.