On June 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that federal district courts could not issue nationwide injunctions to block executive actions. Even though lower courts directly addressed the birthright citizenship issue, the Court did not resolve the constitution interpretation of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” in its opinion.  The majority’s inaction will cause disarray as the matter remains pending in lower courts.

The Court did leave a 30-day window before the order can be implemented in states not party to the lawsuits that were already filed. So, after July 27, 2025, only 22 states will have the matter blocked, whereas 28 states could have the order go into effect and bar birthright citizenship.

Without nationwide injunctions, potentially illegal actions can stay in place for months while the already overextended court system attempts to resolve them. This drastically increases the power of the executive branch and could also lead to significant confusion in federal law between states.

This particular matter will especially cause confusion, as someone recently born to undocumented parents in 28 states may for some time not be considered a US citizen; that same person born in the 22 remaining states would be considered a US citizen. In both situations, U.S. citizenship status could change as result of the ultimate outcome of the litigation.