US Supreme Court Allows Trump's Birthright Citizenship Plan to Proceed in Some States

Donald Trump's administration will be allowed to take steps to implement its proposal to end automatic birthright citizenship in the US following a decision by the Supreme Court. Under the current rules, nearly anyone born on US territory has automatic citizenship rights - commonly known as 'birthright citizenship'. But, on his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an executive order aimed at ending that right. A series of lawsuits followed, with district courts issuing nationwide injunctions aiming to block the order from taking effect.

The Supreme Court on Friday voted 6-3 to allow the Trump administration to narrow the scope of nationwide injunctions imposed by judges so that they apply only to states, groups and individuals that sued. This means the birthright citizenship proposal can likely move forward at least in part in the states that challenged it, as well as those that did not.

The US president responded with a post on Truth Social by welcoming the ruling as a 'giant win'. At a news conference at the White House, he said: 'In recent months, we've seen a handful of radical left judges effectively try to overrule the rightful powers of the president... to dictate the law for the entire nation... this was a colossal abuse of power.'

He went on to suggest the current birthright was being abused and had originally been designed for a different era, to give the descendants of slaves the right to citizenship. 'It wasn't meant for people trying to scam the system and come into the country on a vacation. It was meant for the babies of slaves. Hundreds of thousands of people are pouring into our country under birthright citizenship.'

Friday's Supreme Court decision was focused on cases filed in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington state. The policy remains blocked for now in one additional state, New Hampshire, as a result of a separate lawsuit that is not before the Supreme Court. Mr Trump's plan has the backing of 21 other states.

Friday's ruling does not examine the legal merits of the policy, but only whether judges had the authority to put it on hold across the entire country. The US Constitution gives automatic citizenship to almost anyone born in America, but Mr Trump wants that restricted to only those with at least one parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident.

As a result of the ruling, the proposal can potentially move forward nationwide, although individuals could still file their own lawsuits at the state level. Those currently challenging the policy could also still reinstate injunctions which are less broad in scope.

According to the source: Sky News.