The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a procedural but significant win for the Trump administration on Friday, ruling 6–3 that federal courts exceeded their authority by issuing nationwide injunctions against a 2025 executive order on birthright citizenship.
The ruling did not determine the constitutionality of the order but focused narrowly on the reach of judicial blocks.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored the majority opinion, stating that “universal injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority that Congress has given to federal courts.”
The decision directs lower courts to re-evaluate their injunctions and apply principles of equity, limiting relief only to plaintiffs with standing.
The justices granted partial relief to the administration by limiting the scope of those injunctions.
The Supreme Court’s decision puts a temporary hold on the sweeping nationwide injunctions previously issued by three lower federal courts, which had barred the Trump administration from enforcing the executive order anywhere in the United States.
However, they also ruled that implementation of the policy itself must remain on hold for an additional 30 days, allowing time for further legal proceedings and potential challenges in the lower courts.
The case stems from President Trump’s executive order, signed on his first day in office, which asserts