New York Attorney General Letitia James sharply condemned the U.S. Supreme Court following its landmark decision on President Donald Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship, underscoring how deeply invested she had become in the case she initiated.
In a statement, the Democratic attorney general blasted the Court’s conservative majority for overturning the authority of federal district judges to issue nationwide injunctions, a legal tool that had blocked significant portions of Trump’s second-term agenda. The birthright case was one of those that had been subjected to a nationwide injunction.
“Every child born on U.S. soil is a citizen of this country, no matter which state they are born in. This has been the law of the land for more than a century,” James said, calling the decision a “profound and disappointing setback for the families who now face tremendous uncertainty and danger, for the millions of people who rely on the courts to protect their constitutional rights, and for the fundamental rule of law.”
Attorneys for the Trump administration argued in “Trump v. CASA” that the ability of local judges to enforce nationwide injunctions likely exceeds “the equitable authority that Congress has granted to federal courts,” instead suggesting that an injunction should only apply to the individual or parties directly involved in the case.
With the Court’s 6-3 ruling, Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship now applies broadly to individuals not directly involved in the case Trump v. CASA, effectively making it the law of the land. The Supreme Court’s decision to avoid ruling on the order’s constitutionality left the policy in place by default.
Trump’s executive order declares that any child born after February 19 to parents residing in the U.S. unlawfully—or to one parent who is in the country illegally while the other is not a U.S. citizen—would not be eligible for birthright citizenship, as outlined in the 14th Amendment.
James was the first to challenge Trump’s order in court, arguing that it would harm New York’s Child Health Plus program—which offers healthcare regardless of immigration status—by cutting off federal funding for children who lose eligibility under the new policy.
The Democrat said that her office and other attorneys general “will continue to defend the Constitution and the common values that unite us,” implying potential further legal action, ABC New York reports.