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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know US Affairs Citizenship/Immigration News India Times (July 5, 2025 - July 11, 2025) July 11, 2025 8 Why Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Ban Still Faces An Uphill Battle In Court P resident Donald Trump celebrated a Supreme Court ruling Friday that he said “hit hard” at birthright citizenship. But his executive order to prohibit the children of unauthorized immigrants and foreign visitors from obtaining automatic U.S. citizenship still faces a steep challenge in court. Though the justices limited the ability of lower-court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, including those that halted his ban on birthright citizenship, they left open the possibility of granting universal relief through class-action lawsuits. Within hours of the ruling, several civil rights groups filed new class-action lawsuits to block Trump’s birthright ban from taking effect. District court judges could also continue to issue temporary injunctions that apply to newborns in the jurisdiction that has sued. And the Supreme Court could be asked again to weigh in on the constitutionality of birthright citizenship, which the justices did not address in their ruling on injunctions. “There’s going to be a flood of lawsuits in district courts all over the country – both individual cases and class actions, trying to fill every gap that could possibly be exposed through this executive order to make sure people are protected,” said Jeff Joseph, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Nonetheless, the uncertainty of what might transpire in the weeks ahead has put immigrant communities on edge. Though several legal experts told TheWashington Post they expect a federal judge to grant class action relief, if that does not happen, Trump’s executive order could take effect in 30 days anywhere that an injunction has not been issued. Currently 22 states and the District of Columbia are protected from existing orders temporar- ily halting the ban. “Somebody who is giving birth today, tomorrow, on Monday … their child is a U.S. citizen, they should request the hospital records and then request the birth certificate,” said Efrén C. Olivares, vice president for liti- gation and legal strategy at the National Immigration Law Center. “Practically though in the time that we’re living … I am concerned that some parents may be scared, may be afraid to request those documents for fear of being reported to immigration authorities.” Trump’s order denies automatic citizenship for the children of unauthorized immigrants and foreigners on temporary work, student and tourist visas. Some stud- ies estimate that population could include more than 150,000 newborns a year. It is based on a reinterpreta- tion of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 and grants citizenship to those born on U.S. soil who are “subject to the jurisdiction” of the federal govern- ment. Proponents argue undocumented immigrants and foreigners on temporary visas are not fully under U.S. jurisdiction. Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, predicted two potential sce- narios: a class-action lawsuit that could have the same effect as a nationwide injunction or individual lawsuits filed in multiple federal district courts. “If a district court issues a class-wide injunction, then the Trump administration may appeal that the arguments against class-action lawsuits are the same as against na- tionwide injunctions,” Chishti said. But he predicted that would be a harder argument for the Trump administra- tion to win because the Supreme Court did not weigh in on restrictions to class-action suits. Jonathan Miller, chief program officer for the Public Rights Project, a California-based nonprofit that has rep- resented local jurisdictions in broad challenges to several Trump administration policies, said he thinks more gov- ernments will be looking to sign on to existing lawsuits to ensure that their residents are protected. “That’s the type of thing that could continue to grow as more jurisdictions realize they need to get involved to be protected,” he said. Some Democrats warned of “chaos” if Trump succeeds in ending birthright citizenship. Lawyers have warned there will be significant logistical hurdles in determin- ing which babies born in the United States qualify for citi- zenship. They say even children who qualify could face delays and errors in obtaining proof of U.S. citizenship. The American Civil Liberties Union was one of sev- eral groups to file a class-action lawsuit hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling. The organization said that a federal judge should grant relief to “all current and future persons” affected by the ban and born on or after Feb. 20 – the date Trump’s executive order would have taken effect if not for the injunctions. “Every court to have looked at this cruel order agrees that it is unconstitutional,” said CodyWofsy, deputy di- rector of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project and lead attorney in their case. “The Supreme Court’s decision did not remotely suggest otherwise, and we are fighting to make sure President Trump cannot trample on the citizenship rights of a single child.” Trump called the court’s ruling a “GIANTWIN” on social media and said the “Birthright Citizenship Hoax has been, indirectly, hit hard.” He went on to state that it has been used for the “SCAMMING of our Immigration process.” The president and his supporters allege the clause has been a magnet for unauthorized immigrants coming to the United States for the express purpose of having a baby who gains citizenship and can sponsor them for legal status. But U.S. law requires those children to wait until they’re 21 to petition for their parents to become citizens, with very few exceptions. Several immigrant mothers said Friday they were bol- stered by the efforts of immigrant advocacy groups to try to seek other legal resolutions to block Trump’s birthright citizenship order from affecting families such as theirs. Nonetheless, for many undocumented immigrants, the decision has added to their uncertainty and fear as Trump ramps up arrests and pushes forward his deporta- tion operations. Edna Yang, co-executive director of American Gate- ways, an Austin-based nonprofit group, said that im- migrant parents should not panic or make any hasty decisions, but that communities do need to plan for any scenario. “The hallmark of this administration is uncertainty,” Yang said, citing other immigration policies targeting student visa-holders and deporting people to third coun- tries. “All these things have been done quickly to create confusion and uncertainty. It’s hard to reassure people everything is going to be fine.” Reylimar, 28, left Venezuela in 2019 as part of a mass exodus of people fleeing the country’s political and economic crisis. She spoke on the condition that her last name be withheld because she fears being targeted by immigration enforcement. She lived for a few years in Colombia and then entered the country in 2024 after obtaining an appointment through the Biden administra- tion’s CBP One app. She recently learned she is pregnant and said she is in a constant state of stress. The government canceled the parole status she was given after entering the country and, she said, also revoked her work authorization. She has an ongoing asylum case but lacks basic necessities such as health insurance. “We are living in suspense,” she said. “I don’t want to go back to my country. I also don’t want them to arrest me for just being an immigrant.” Reylimar now also worries about the future for her baby. - TheWashington Post PHOTO:MattMcClain/TheWashington Post People demonstrate outside the Supreme Court on May 15. By Marianne LeVine, Arelis R. Hernández, Silvia Foster-Frau Dr. Tina Shah Announces 2026 Bid For US Congress From New Jersey’s 7th District no medical training, are actively gutting lifesaving medical research and putting vaccine deniers in charge of our vaccine system.” She went on to add, “If we keep going down this road, there’s only one outcome: people will get hurt. What we do next is critical. I’m running for Congress to fix what is fundamentally broken and stand up for my patients, my neighbors, my community, and New Jersey.” Dr. Shah, who has worked in both the private and public sector, is triple board- certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical care medicine, and has worked at the local and national level on healthcare issues. She served as senior advisor to US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy during the Biden administration, and was aWhite House Fellow and special advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs during the Obama administration. - Continued From Page 7