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U.S. Supreme Court to hear case on Trump’s birthright citizenship order

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tennesseelookout.com – Jennifer Shutt – 2025-04-17 17:00:00

by Jennifer Shutt, Tennessee Lookout
April 17, 2025

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court announced Thursday it will hear oral arguments next month over President Donald Trump’s efforts to restructure birthright citizenship, though the justices won’t decide on the merits of the case just yet. 

Instead, they will choose whether to leave in place nationwide injunctions from lower courts that so far have blocked the Trump administration from implementing the executive order.

The oral arguments, scheduled for May 15, will likely provide the first indication of whether any of the nine justices are interested in revisiting the Court’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which was ratified in 1868 following the Civil War.

The amendment states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

The Supreme Court ruled in 1898 in United States v. Wong Kim Ark that the 14th Amendment guarantees any child born in the United States is entitled to U.S. citizenship, even if their parents are not citizens.

Trump disagrees with that ruling and signed an executive order on his first day in office seeking to change which babies born in the United States become citizens. If that order were implemented, babies whose parents were “unlawfully present in the United States” or whose parents’ presence “was lawful but temporary” would not be eligible for citizenship.

Several organizations and Democratic attorneys general filed lawsuits seeking to block the executive order, leading to nationwide injunctions against its implementation.

Last month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the lower court’s nationwide injunctions, limiting them to the organizations and states that filed suit.

The three cases are Trump v. State of Washington, Trump v. CASA, Inc. and Trump v. State of New Jersey.

Legislation

Nationwide injunctions by lower court judges have become an issue for Republicans in Congress as well as the Trump administration.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced a bill in Congress that would bar federal district court judges from being able to implement nationwide injunctions.

“We all have to agree to give up the universal injunction as a weapon against policies we disagree with,” Grassley said during a hearing earlier this month. “The damage it causes to the judicial system and to our democracy is too great.”

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com.

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News from the South - Tennessee News Feed

Tennesseans could be charged for housing immigrants who have legal status under state ‘smuggling’ law

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wpln.org – Marianna Bacallao – 2025-09-10 20:37:00

SUMMARY: Tennessee’s new law criminalizes housing immigrants without legal status, even if those housed have citizenship. Enforcement depends on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “determinations,” which critics argue are not final immigration rulings. State attorneys maintain that ICE notices suffice for prosecution, even if later proven wrong. The law targets human smugglers financially benefiting from housing undocumented immigrants, but churches and landlords fear prosecution for aid or rentals. Lawsuits argue the law’s broad language chills landlords and nonprofits. Judge William Campbell may issue a limited injunction to protect plaintiffs during trial. Opponents say the law criminalizes acts of hospitality and sanctuary.

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What Black City Gets the National Guard – The Tennessee Tribune

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tntribune.com – April Ryan – 2025-09-09 18:17:00

SUMMARY: Over the weekend, protests erupted in cities like Washington, D.C., and Chicago against President Trump’s threat to deploy National Guard troops, which Illinois Governor JB Pritzker condemned as a “fake guise of fighting crime.” Trump’s selective targeting of cities with Black mayors in Democratic states, including New Orleans, has raised concerns of racial bullying. Los Angeles was the first city to face military deployment during an immigration crisis, a move later ruled illegal for violating the Posse Comitatus Act. Baltimore’s former mayor also denied any crime emergency, criticizing the stigma caused by potential National Guard involvement.

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DATA: ICE detainer requests in Tennessee up by 86.5% compared to last year

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www.wkrn.com – Tori Gessner – 2025-09-09 17:03:00

SUMMARY: ICE detainer requests in Tennessee surged 86.5% this year, with a 31.8% rise in Davidson County, according to new data. Representative Lee Reeves highlighted strains on local resources from illegal immigration, citing law violations in small towns like Robertson County. Reeves urges more local agencies to adopt 287(g) agreements, which grant federal immigration enforcement powers to sheriffs, including jail enforcement, task force, and warrant officer models. Currently, 27 Tennessee sheriffs participate in these agreements, contributing to the state’s ranking as second nationwide for ICE arrests in jails. Reeves credits tougher immigration enforcement under President Trump and supports legislation to mandate 287(g) adoption statewide. Detainer requests in Shelby County rose only slightly.

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