The Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a string of victories on immigration this term, greenlighting policies that will impact hundreds of thousands of people even as it rejected his most ambitious goal: ending birthright citizenship. The rulings, issued in rapid succession, give the administration broad authority to deport immigrants with temporary protections, turn away asylum seekers at the border, and tighten scrutiny on green-card holders returning from abroad.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin celebrated the decisions on social media, calling them “victories for enforcing our nation’s immigration laws” that provide “the tools we need to continue securing our nation.” Legal experts note that courts have traditionally granted presidents wide latitude over immigration, and these rulings cement that trend for Trump.
But the loss on birthright citizenship, rooted in the 14th Amendment and upheld by a 5-4 majority, was a stinging defeat. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the amendment’s promise of citizenship to “every free-born person in this land” could not be undone by executive order. University of Virginia law professor Amanda Frost called it a case with “absolutely no grounds” to bring.
The immediate fallout hits hardest for 350,000 Haitians and Syrians under Temporary Protected Status, who now risk losing work permits and facing deportation. The administration has moved to end protections for 1.3 million people from 13 countries. Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired Cornell law professor, said the decision “significantly enhances the Trump administration’s efforts to increase deportations” and hurts businesses that rely on these workers.
The asylum ruling allows the government to turn back refugees at the border, a move Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned would lead to more deaths. Critics say it effectively closes the southern border to those seeking safety. Another decision makes it riskier for green-card holders to travel abroad, with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting that it hands the government a “massive blank check” to put permanent residents in limbo.
Trump’s immigration agenda has reshaped policy through more than 700 changes, many upheld by the Supreme Court after lower courts blocked them. The emergency docket, or “shadow docket,” has been a key tool, with about a third of 37 emergency applications involving immigration. Notable cases include the “Kavanaugh stops,” allowing brief questioning of immigrants in public, and the use of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged gang members, though the court temporarily halted flights.
The case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran man mistakenly deported despite a court order allowing him to stay, highlights the human toll. Legal experts say the rulings underscore a broken system crying out for congressional action. “We desperately need Congress to step in and legislate,” said University of Chicago law professor Nicole Hallett.
Trump, undeterred, urged Congress to pass legislation restricting birthright citizenship, writing on social media, “No long and unwieldy Constitutional Amendment is necessary!”
