Birthright Citizenship Could Depend on State Borders Under New Legal Landscape: Report

The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision which ruled that President Donald Trump's plan to end birthright citizenship may be enforced in some parts of the country has opened the door for creating the potential for legal inconsistencies across the country, a new report shows.

The 6-3 decision, with the majority decision written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, found that district court judges exceeded their authority by halting Trump's order nationwide. While the ruling did not address the constitutionality of the order, it limited the ability of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions blocking federal policies, meaning that injunctions can only apply within the jurisdictions of the states involved in legal challenges.

As a result, Trump's order could take effect in 27 states that did not join lawsuits opposing it, including Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah, beginning July 27, as Wyoming Public Radio explains.

The order, signed on January 20, seeks to reject citizenship to children born in the U.S. after February 19 unless at least one parent has permanent legal status. Twenty-three states, including Colorado, California, and New York, have challenged the order in court. In these states, birthright citizenship remains in effect for now.

"You're protected. And if people are born here in Colorado, they still will benefit from birthright citizenship," said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, one of the officials leading the legal opposition, during a recent interview on Colorado Public Radio.

Weiser explained that the ruling could create a "patchwork" of citizenship laws:

"It would be a recipe for chaos to have Colorado be covered by this injunction, but not Wyoming because Wyoming's not suing. If someone's born in Colorado but lives in Wyoming, are they a birthright [citizen] or not?"

Legal scholars and immigration advocates have expressed concern over the broader implications of the decision. University of Wyoming law professor Jerry Fowler acknowledged concerns about nationwide injunctions to Wyoming Public Radio but emphasized that "there's gotta be one law of citizenship that applies all over the country."

"I don't see how you can have one law in Colorado and another law in Wyoming," added Fowler. "Then you have people moving back and forth. It's an administrative nightmare."

While the Supreme Court's decision paused implementation for 30 days, legal challenges are expected to continue. Weiser confirmed that the case will return to lower courts and possibly return to the Supreme Court. "We aren't going to take anything for granted," he said. "We'll be fighting hard."

The question of birthright citizenship, grounded in the 14th Amendment, has historically been viewed as settled law. However, Trump and his supporters argue the amendment was never intended to apply to children of undocumented immigrants.