Trump: Universal Injunction Ruling a Victory for the Constitution

President Donald Trump said on June 27 that a Supreme Court ruling limiting the power of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions is a victory for the Constitution.

“The Supreme Court has delivered a monumental victory for the Constitution, the separation of powers and the rule of law in striking down the excessive use of nationwide injunctions to interfere with the normal functioning of the executive branch,” he said during a press conference at the White House.

Trump said that with the decision, his administration can “promptly file to proceed with numerous policies that have been wrongly enjoined on a nationwide basis.”

One policy that has been blocked regards limiting birthright citizenship, which Trump sought to do through an executive order.

“[Birthright citizenship] now comes to the fore,” he said. “That was meant for the babies of slaves. It wasn’t meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation.”

The Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of that executive order, but in the majority opinion of the case, CASA v. Trump, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote that “universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts.”

The birthright citizenship case will most likely be decided in October, when the Supreme Court begins its term, Attorney General Pam Bondi said during the press conference. It is unclear whether the executive order will be enforced in states that have not filed for an injunction on it.

Numerous states have challenged the constitutionality of the executive order, which Trump signed on Jan. 20, the first day of his second term.

“The Court grants the Government’s applications for a partial stay of the injunctions entered below, but only to the extent that the injunctions are broader than necessary to provide complete relief to each plaintiff with standing to sue,” the opinion reads.

Vice President JD Vance and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) celebrated the ruling.

“Today’s decision is a significant step towards addressing the bipartisan problem of universal injunctions,” Grassley said in a statement.

“I’m heartened to hear a supermajority of the Supreme Court echo what I’ve said repeatedly: judges’ constitutional authority is limited to deciding cases and controversies.

“Universal injunctions are an unconstitutional afront [sic] to our nation’s system of checks and balances, and ought to be stopped for good.”

Not everyone appreciated the decision.

George Escobar, CASA’s chief of programs and services, said in a statement: “This ruling undermines the fundamental promise of the Constitution—that every child born on U.S. soil is equal under the law. Today’s decision sends a message to U.S.-born children of immigrants that their place in this country is conditional. But we are not backing down. CASA will keep fighting until the rights of all our children are fully recognized and protected.”

One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, a pregnant mother referred to only as Monica, said in a statement, “This decision is devastating for U.S. families who are not protected by the limited injunction the Supreme Court left in place.”

“Hundreds of thousands of other U.S.-born children are in danger of not receiving U.S. citizenship,” she said. “I know that every pregnant mother cannot file a lawsuit to make sure their children have U.S. citizenship—that is why I filed this lawsuit to not only protect my child’s rights, but the constitutional rights of all U.S.-born children of immigrants.”