Washington, DC [6/27/2025] - Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) lifted a universal injunction on an executive order that allows the federal administration to strip U.S. citizenship from children born in the United States to undocumented parents. 

In essence, SCOTUS has ruled that lawsuits can no longer “shop around” to find friendly lower court jurisdictions to sue against Executive Orders, and that injunctions, when granted, will only cover the jurisdictions of those courts. This issues a devastating blow to the already delicate and ever-eroding balance of powers in the Federal government and strikes down one of the few remaining checks on Executive authority. SCOTUS has yet to rule on whether Trump’s original executive order on Birthright Citizenship is constitutional, but by lifting the nationwide injunction, it has effectively rendered all families in those states who were not part of the original Birthright Citizenship lawsuit stateless.

“The Fourteenth Amendment is clear: ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States... are citizens of the United States.’ This is a red alert for every American, citizen or not.  The Trump Administration is attempting to create a pay-to-play Democracy,” said Amy Torres, Executive Director with New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice. “We refuse a vision for this country where citizenship is no longer a birthright but instead a premium that can be auctioned off to the wealthy, privileged few that can buy their way out of our fundamentally broken immigration system. Most families won’t be able to fight back, and that’s exactly the point.”

In New Jersey, one in six residents lives in a mixed-status household, and nearly one million noncitizens call our state home. The few states included in the original lawsuit include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont,  and Wisconsin.

“This Supreme Court decision is a direct gift to a white supremacist administration already using every tool at its disposal to criminalize immigrants, disappear people, and destroy families. This is how state violence works: with the blessing of the courts and the silence of the powerful,” said Katy Sastre, Executive Director of First Friends of New Jersey and New York. “New Jersey lawmakers have had years to pass the Immigrant Trust Act. Instead, they've chosen delay and cowardice. And now, unless they act immediately, they will have chosen complicity. The Immigrant Trust Act must pass now. If New Jersey is truly a place that protects immigrants, this is the moment to prove it. Anything less is a complete betrayal.”

"Today's Supreme Court ruling is yet another clear call for states like New Jersey to protect immigrant communities,” said Amber Reed, Co-Executive Director of AAPI New Jersey. “We urge the New Jersey State Legislature and Governor Murphy to move the Immigrant Trust Act forward without further delay.“

“New Jersey can be a beacon in this moment, a light of hope and courageous compassion for families demanding that their inherent dignity be respected. While our Attorney General continues the fight to uphold the promises of the 14th Amendment, promises this federal administration is hell-bent on destroying, we must not be naive and think the fight ends there,” said Charlene Walker, Executive Director of Faith in New Jersey. “Our state has a moral responsibility to protect us here at home. We call on Governor Murphy, Speaker Coughlin, and Senate President Scutari to pass the Immigrant Trust Act without delay. Don’t yield to political convenience; instead, act with moral clarity. Every family deserves safety, dignity, and the full protection of the law. Our collective faith traditions command nothing less.”

“This ruling from the Supreme Court is extremely dangerous. The court has taken away a key means for protecting our rights, and we are now one step further along the path to being ruled by an authoritarian regime. This decision causes confusion and uncertainty for community members. We need the Immigrant Trust Act today. Together, we can build fortresses of resistance.” said Nedia Morsy, Director of Make the Road NJ.

"This ruling is a dangerous blow to our communities. By blocking courts from issuing nationwide injunctions, the Supreme Court is making it harder for directly impacted people including immigrants, Muslims, and Black and brown communities to get the urgent protection they need when their rights are under attack. It means we’ll have to fight harmful executive orders one case at a time, wasting critical time, energy, and public resources to relitigate the same battles again and again in different courts. This is a system designed to wear us down and stop us from challenging injustice while our tax dollars fund the delays. This isn’t just a technical legal decision, it’s a green light for future presidents to bypass accountability and harm our communities with less resistance," said Ana Paola Pazmino, Executive Director of Resistencia En Acción NJ. "At Resistencia, we know what’s at stake. We’ve lived it. And we will keep organizing, because our communities deserve more than incomplete justice, they deserve to be safe everywhere.”

“We are deeply troubled by today’s Supreme Court ruling restricting nationwide injunctions issued by lower courts,” said Charles Loflin, Executive Director of UU Faith Action. “Today’s decision does not address in ANY WAY the merits of the current administration’s attempt to end birthright citizenship, but Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is correct when she says that this decision is ‘an existential threat to the rule of law.’ Now, more than ever, New Jersey must ACT to protect our immigrant neighbors, which means immediately passing the Immigrant Trust Act. This is a moment for bold action, not political cowardice. Justice demands nothing less.”

“Today’s Supreme Court decision narrowly confines the reach of nationwide injunctions, but it didn’t touch the core question: whether birthright citizenship is protected under the 14th Amendment. What it did make clear is that lower courts will now handle these cases state by state,” said Rosalie Wong and Louise Walpin, Founders of SWEEP NJ. “That means New Jersey, already named in Trump v. CASA, will likely see more families and children seeking a haven here. The Immigrant Trust Act is our safeguard against the uncertainty ahead. It reaffirms that local law enforcement will serve our communities, not federal immigration agendas. Now is the time. The Legislature must pass this bill and send a strong message: New Jersey stands for dignity, fairness, and is a true haven.”

"The New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children is committed to protecting the inroads New Jersey has made as a model state for inclusion, belonging, and advancement,” said Fred Wied, Policy Director, New Jersey Consortium for Immigrant Children. “We stand with New Jersey's immigrant communities and for a nation that respects all who have put down roots here, whether they were born in the U.S. or elsewhere. We urge the Legislature to pass the Immigrant Trust Act to ensure that New Jersey continues to be a welcoming home for immigrant children and families so they can live full and fearless lives." 

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice is the state’s largest immigration coalition, convening over 60 member organizations to fight for policies that empower and protect immigrants. Our coalition remains committed and resolved to protect families, and urgently calls Governor Murphy, Senate President Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin to pass the Immigrant Trust Act (S4987/A3672) so that New Jersey families and those seeking temporary safety in our state are granted the critical privacy protections that keep them from becoming direct targets of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Advocates are also calling for the State’s publicly funded legal services program, the Deportation and Detention Defense Initiative, to receive increased investments in the face of ballooning private prison expansion, a decision that will be part of the Legislature’s final budget negotiations before June 30th.