Supreme Court liberal justices issued stark warnings about the majority’s decision to limit judicial authority in Trump’s birthright citizenship case, arguing the ruling could enable obviously unconstitutional government actions. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent characterized the decision as dangerous judicial abdication.
The 6-3 ruling, led by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, restricted federal courts’ ability to issue nationwide injunctions while avoiding constitutional questions about Trump’s citizenship directive. Liberal justices argued this approach prioritizes procedural concerns over fundamental rights protection.
Sotomayor’s dissent accused the majority of “shamefully” enabling the Trump administration’s legal strategy of implementing potentially illegal policies while avoiding constitutional scrutiny. She argued that obvious constitutional violations warrant immediate and comprehensive judicial intervention to prevent widespread harm.
The case involves Trump’s executive order denying citizenship to American-born children unless they have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. This policy challenges over a century of legal precedent based on the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause and would affect more than 150,000 newborns annually.