US President Donald Trump on Friday asked the US Supreme Court to review the legality of his controversial attempt to end birthright citizenship, setting the stage for a major constitutional showdown over immigration policy.The justice department filed appeals against two lower court rulings that struck down Trump’s executive order. Signed on his first day back in office in January, the order directed federal agencies to deny citizenship to children born in the US unless at least one parent was an American citizen or lawful permanent resident.Justice department lawyers said the rulings undermined border security and wrongly extended citizenship to “hundreds of thousands of unqualified people.” They urged the justices to take up the case in their next term, beginning October 6.The executive order sparked a wave of lawsuits, with critics arguing it violated the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees citizenship to anyone born on American soil. Federal judges in multiple states agreed, blocking the measure nationwide.Two separate challenges are now before the high court — one brought by Washington state and three others, and another filed by individuals in New Hampshire. In July, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the administration, while a New Hampshire judge allowed the plaintiffs there to proceed as a class action, effectively halting the order nationwide.“This executive order is illegal — full stop — and no amount of manoeuvring from the administration is going to change that,” said Cody Wofsy, attorney for the New Hampshire plaintiffs. “We will continue to ensure that no baby’s citizenship is ever stripped away by this cruel and senseless order.”The Supreme Court, which holds a 6-3 conservative majority, has already limited the ability of judges to impose nationwide injunctions but left room for class actions and state-led challenges. The Trump administration’s appeal seeks to push the justices to weigh in more directly on the scope of presidential power in immigration matters.
