Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich blasted the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. CASA on Friday, saying it undermines the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of birthright citizenship and reduces protections for immigrants by restricting nationwide injunctions.
In a concerning decision today, the Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. CASAone that restricts lower courts’ power to impose national injunctions, even where constitutional rights may be in question. Instead of maintaining the principles outlined in our Constitution, the Court eroded the legal tools used to defend those rights and diminished protections for immigrants, even if it did not expressly rule on President Trump’s attempt to undercut birthright citizenship.
Regardless of their parents’ status, everybody born in the United States is guaranteed citizenship by the 14th Amendment for more than a century. That isn’t a weakness. Fairness and equality are fundamental to our identity as a country.
Ironically, despite identifying as strict constructionists, the majority of the Court chooses to disregard the Constitution’s unambiguous language when it presents a chance to deny someone their rights.
The Court’s decision to restrict nationwide injunctions has created a tumultuous and incredibly uneven system in which children’s rights may now be determined by the state or court district in where they were born. That isn’t fair. Fragmentation is what that is. As Justice Sotomayor correctly noted, this ruling follows a pattern in which the Court has been eroding established law and replacing it with ambiguity.
The majority of this Supreme Court is determined to undo advancements, as demonstrated by the established constitutional law of Roe v. Wade a few years ago. The Supreme Court violates the nation’s commitments by preventing lower courts from consistently enforcing this right, creating an atmosphere of anarchy, injustice, and terror.
Undermining birthright citizenship is an assault on immigrant families, the Constitution, and the guarantee of equal protection under the law; it goes beyond a simple legal argument. Our nation does not stand for this. And regardless of where they were born or how they got here, we will keep fighting for the rights of every Montgomery County resident.
When a child enrolls in school or someone phones 911, we don’t inquire about their status. The way we treat people in our county will not be dictated by political hyperbole.
Montgomery County Executive Elrich Marc
