Impact of Trump’s birthright citizenship ban on all 50 states on July 27

Washington, Oregon, along with numerous other states, pursued legal action against the Trump administration due to the birthright citizenship ban. As a result, federal judges imposed nationwide injunctions, effectively halting the implementation of Trump’s ban throughout the entire United States. Last week, a 6-3 ruling by the Supreme Court adjusted the scope of federal judges’ authority regarding the granting of nationwide injunctions. The ruling specified that injunctions should only apply broadly enough to directly impact the plaintiffs involved in the lawsuit.

Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, there was no ruling on the constitutionality of the citizenship ban. Consequently, lower courts must reconsider their injunctions in accordance with the Supreme Court’s recent ruling. For the 28 states that did not engage in legal action against Trump’s administration over the birthright citizenship ban, this might result in the ban taking effect on July 27.

In light of these developments, the Supreme Court has introduced an alternative route for individuals seeking to challenge Trump’s ban or similar policies on a nationwide scale: the option of a class-action lawsuit. In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, advocacy groups behind one of the legal challenges to Trump’s ban swiftly modified their lawsuit, pursuing class-action status to represent all pregnant individuals and children born into families without legal status nationwide. To date, there are two lawsuits that have sought class-action status following the Supreme Court’s ruling. Lower courts will be responsible for determining whether these cases, or any additional class-action lawsuits filed prior to July 27, warrant a nationwide blockage of Trump’s birthright citizenship ban.

Trump’s birthright citizenship ban targets individuals born in the United States after February 19, 2025, under specific circumstances. The ban would deny citizenship to children born to mothers without legal status who are not citizens or permanent residents, or in cases where the mother is on a temporary visa and the father is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident. A significant number of U.S.-born children, over 4 million, are living with a parent lacking legal status, and 1.8 million reside in households where both parents lack legal status. Children born into the latter category after July 27 risk being left stateless.