Attorney General Tong Statement on Supreme Court Punt on Nationwide Injunction Blocking Unconstitutional Trump Order to Eliminate Birthright Citizenship

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06/27/2025

Attorney General Tong Statement on Supreme Court Punt on Nationwide Injunction Blocking Unconstitutional Trump Order to Eliminate Birthright Citizenship

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong released the following statement regarding the 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the nationwide injunction blocking the elimination of birthright citizenship while legal challenges continue. The decision remands to the district court to determine the scope of the injunction necessary, and keeps in place a 30-day nationwide pause on implementation of the order.

“Let’s be very clear—there is an injunction in place in Connecticut right now, and a continuation of the nationwide pause everywhere for the next 30 days that preserves birthright citizenship and protects Connecticut families. But this deeply disappointing decision is a massive punt by the Supreme Court that creates needless chaos for families and babies across the country, and is a troubling signal of even worse to come from this court. There is just no legitimate legal debate on the meaning of the 14th Amendment. If you are born on American soil, you are an American. Today’s decision does not address the constitutionality of birthright citizenship, but rather whether the lower courts could impose a nationwide injunction pausing the President’s attack while the legal challenges continue. The question now is what happens after these 30 days, and to the babies of families who have not sued, or do not live in states like Connecticut who are fighting back. What we have is an unworkable mess that will leave thousands of babies in an untenable legal limbo. Will babies born in Connecticut have different citizenship rights than those born in Texas or Florida? What of babies born in Connecticut who travel outside our state? This fight is far from over, and we will continue to press our case to defend the American dream and the essential character of our nation,” said Attorney General Tong.

On day one of his presidency, Trump issued an executive order fulfilling his repeated campaign promise to end birthright citizenship, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Section 1401 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Attorney General Tong joined the attorneys general of 17 other states, the District of Columbia and the City of San Francisco in challenging President Trump’s order, which eviscerates clear constitutional rights to which all children born in the United States are entitled. In response to the multistate challenge, as well as others filed by other groups, courts have issued nationwide preliminary injunctions blocking the Trump administration from implementing the unconstitutional order.

The Supreme Court has not yet considered the full merits of the case. This decision considered the legality of whether individual district courts could impose a nationwide injunction in this case. The 6-3 decision strikes down that nationwide injunction and sends the question back to the lower court to re-determine the scope of the injunction.

For Attorney General Tong, this fight is personal. Born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1973, he became the first United States citizen in his immediate family by right of his birth on American soil. He was the first Asian American elected to state office in Connecticut history, and the first Chinese American to be elected Attorney General in the nation. Attorney General Tong was at the Supreme Court for oral arguments on the case on May 15.

Click here to view Connecticut’s lawsuit, and here to view the Supreme Court brief.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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