Overview

• A 2-1 panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a nationwide injunction blocking President Trump’s executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship for children of noncitizen parents.
• The majority, led by Judges Ronald Gould and Michael Hawkins, ruled that a geographically limited injunction would leave states’ Medicaid, CHIP and Title IV-E systems exposed and that the order contradicts the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship clause.
• Trump appointee Judge Patrick Bumatay dissented, arguing that the states lacked standing to secure relief beyond their borders.
• The ruling follows a Supreme Court decision that curtailed the authority of courts to issue broad national injunctions while preserving pathways for state and class-based relief.
• As the first appellate merits decision, the 9th Circuit’s opinion advances the dispute to a final resolution by the U.S. Supreme Court.