NAACP Statement on Trump v. CASA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2025
Contact: Chyna Fields, cfields@naacpnet.org
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Supreme Court once again failed to uphold its most basic responsibility: protecting vulnerable communities and individuals from unconstitutional and arbitrary government abuse.
By a 6-3 majority, the Court stripped lower courts of the ability to issue nationwide injunctions, making it harder — if not impossible — for the judicial system to prevent a president from inflicting harm on millions of Americans. It is a overly technical, heartless decision with real-world consequences for real people.
The Court's majority opinion prioritizes legal formalism over justice. It leaves individuals — particularly immigrants, asylum seekers, and marginalized families — vulnerable to the whims of executive power, with no meaningful recourse.
As Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said in her dissent:
In essence, the Court has now shoved lower court judges out of the way in cases where executive action is challenged, and has gifted the Executive with the prerogative of sometimes disregarding the law. As a result, the Judiciary — the one institution that is solely responsible for ensuring our Republic endures as a Nation of laws — has put both our legal system and our system of government in grave jeopardy."
But let's be clear about what this decision did NOT do: although this case involved President Trump's executive order denying birthright citizenship to children born of certain immigrants, the Court did not uphold his order. The issue of whether the executive order is constitutional is still pending in the courts.
What the Court did do is make it much harder for people affected by his order to fight back. By ruling that an injunction preventing a wrongful act only protects the people who actually sued and obtained the injunction – not anyone else the order affects – the Court enabled systemic injustice to continue unchecked while those most harmed by it are forced to fight one by one in courts across the country.
This ruling echoes a shameful pattern in American history of courts stepping aside and allowing injustice to rush in.
The 14th Amendment's birthright citizenship provision was added to the Constitution specifically to roll back the heinous Dred v. Scott decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared that Black Americans were not and could not be U.S. citizens because, as "beings of an inferior order" they had "no rights which the white man was bound to respect." As with many measures originally intended to safeguard formerly enslaved persons and their descendants, birthright citizenship guaranteed under the 14th Amendment has protected a broader range of people, ensuring that all persons born on these shores are citizens of the United States, regardless of their race, ethnicity, religion, or status of their parents.
This decision is wrong and dangerous. But we will not be deterred or discouraged. Fourteenth Amendment birthright citizenship belongs to everyone born on American soil — not just those lucky enough to file a lawsuit in the right place at the right time. The NAACP will continue to fight this unconstitutional attack on immigrants and citizens.
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About NAACP
The NAACP advocates, agitates, and litigates for the civil rights due to Black America. Our legacy is built on the foundation of grassroots activism by the biggest civil rights pioneers of the 20th century and is sustained by 21st century activists. From classrooms and courtrooms to city halls and Congress, our network of members across the country works to secure the social and political power that will end race-based discrimination. That work is rooted in racial equity, civic engagement, and supportive policies and institutions for all marginalized people. We are committed to a world without racism where Black people enjoy equitable opportunities in thriving communities.
NOTE: The Legal Defense Fund – also referred to as the NAACP-LDF - was founded in 1940 as a part of the NAACP, but now operates as a completely separate entity.