Supreme Court Curbs Ability of District Courts to Block Trump Policies
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday limited the authority of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions that block controversial executive orders from the president.
The immediate issue was an executive order from President Donald Trump that ended birthright citizenship, or the right to be an American citizen by virtue of being born in the United States or because at least one parent of a newborn was a U.S. citizen.
Lower federal courts issued injunctions saying the executive order could not be enforced because it was an unconstitutional violation of the 14th Amendment.
The Supreme Court disagreed. It said federal courts cannot issue “universal” injunctions that apply nationwide, only injunctions for or against the states, groups or individuals who sue.
Twenty-two states and the American Civil Liberties Union filed lawsuits to declare Trump’s executive order 14160 unconstitutional when he signed it in January.
Four federal judges granted injunctions that agreed with the plaintiffs. The Justice Department sued to stop them.
The Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Justice Department has the effect of expanding Trump’s authority for other executive orders unrelated to birthright citizenship. They have included high tariffs on other countries, dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development and closing down most of the U.S. Department of Education.
In each case, federal judges tried to intervene to stop the executive orders from being enforced. The Supreme Court’s ruling against them could leave Trump clear to reorganize large swaths of government.
Trump called nationwide injunctions a “grave threat to democracy” during a press conference after the Supreme Court ruling. “This is a very big moment,” he said.
He denied that the ruling would undermine the authority of the judicial branch of government.
“It only takes power away from bad judges,” Trump said.
Trump tried to abolish birthright citizenship with his executive order. He said he wanted to end birthright citizenship for children of the kind of illegal immigrants who bring crime to the United States and who drain tax revenue to support them.
In overriding the lower courts, the 6-3 Supreme Court majority opinion said, “The question before us is whether the government is likely to suffer irreparable harm from the district courts’ entry of injunctions that likely exceed the authority conferred by the Judiciary Act. The answer to that question is yes.”
The court’s opinion said it was not deciding whether automatic citizenship for children born in the United States should end, only the constitutionality of Trump’s executive order. It said judges lack authority for “universal injunctions” that apply to people who are not parties to a lawsuit.
“Universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts,” the opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett says.
Birthright citizenship is scheduled for a separate hearing before the Supreme Court in October. The Justice Department is suing to end it.
“The violent criminals in our country are the priority,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi while standing beside Trump at the White House press conference.
The Supreme Court’s three liberal judges dissented against greater restrictions on federal judges.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent said the new limit on universal injunctions “disregards basic principles of equity as well as the long history of injunctive relief granted to nonparties.”
Joining in criticism of the Supreme Court’s majority opinion was Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
“By weakening the power of district courts to check the presidency, the court is not defending the Constitution, it’s defacing it,” Schumer said in a statement. “This ruling hands Donald Trump yet another green light in his crusade to unravel the foundations of American democracy.”
The lead case is Trump et al. v. CASA Inc. et al. in the U.S. Supreme Court.
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