Overview

• A federal judge in Maryland issued a fourth nationwide injunction blocking Trump’s January executive order to rescind birthright citizenship.
• The decision follows similar nationwide blocks by courts in Seattle, Boston and New Hampshire and a Ninth Circuit affirmation on July 23.
• In June the Supreme Court limited lower courts’ authority to impose nationwide injunctions without resolving the order’s legality.
• The Justice Department plans to file an emergency petition with the Supreme Court seeking prompt clarification of the decree.
• Trump’s order challenges the 14th Amendment’s century-old jus soli guarantee by adopting a narrow interpretation of “subject to the jurisdiction.”