CASA v. Trump: Protecting birthright citizenship

Last updated on June 30, 2025

UPDATE: On June 27, the Supreme Court issued a new decision on the birthright citizenship case. For the next 30 days, babies born to immigrant parents will continue to be recognized as U.S. citizens. After 30 days, lower courts will have to decide whether the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order can go into effect for some babies. ASAP is immediately taking action to continue to defend the citizenship of all children born in the U.S. after 30 days – including by filing a class action lawsuit.

Here are the most important things to know:

  • The Birthright Citizenship Executive Order continues to be blocked for 30 days, beginning on June 27. The Supreme Court said that the Executive Order would not take effect for 30 days. So children born in the United States for the next 30 days will continue to be recognized as U.S. citizens. 

  • In the different lawsuits, lower court judges will make decisions about whether to continue the nationwide injunction after the 30 days. The Supreme Court said that the lower courts need to decide whether to keep the nationwide injunction protecting birthright citizenship, or not. There are three lawsuits that went to the Supreme Court: ASAP’s lawsuit, and two lawsuits filed by groups of U.S. states.  We do not know if one of the judges in these lawsuits will decide to keep the nationwide injunction or not.  

  • ASAP has already filed a “class action” lawsuit as another way to try to protect all children born in the U.S. A class action is another type of lawsuit that is brought on behalf of a “class” of people. ASAP is asking our judge to update our lawsuit to become a class action. The class action is trying to protect all children born in the U.S. and their parents. We have asked the judge to issue another injunction that protects the entire class as soon as possible, before the 30 day period ends. 

  • If, after 30 days, none of the judges decide to keep an injunction protecting all children and a class action is not certified, the injunctions protecting children of ASAP members and children born in certain states should still be in effect. We are hopeful that a judge in one of the lawsuits will continue to protect all children born in the U.S. However, if they do not, then children born in the states that filed the lawsuits, and children born to members of ASAP or CASA in any U.S state, should still be recognized as U.S. citizens. The states that filed the lawsuits are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Washington, D.C, and Wisconsin.

  • The lawsuits about whether the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order is legal are still ongoing. The Supreme Court’s decision was about whether courts can make nationwide injunctions to block the Executive Order while the lawsuits challenging the Order continue. The Supreme Court has not made a decision about whether the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order violates the U.S. Constitution. ASAP believes that the Executive Order clearly violates the U.S. Constitution, and every court to address this so far has agreed the Executive Order is unconstitutional. We will continue to fight our lawsuit and seek to prevent the Executive Order from impacting any children.

Case Background:

On January 21, 2025, ASAP members filed a lawsuit called CASA v. Trump against the U.S. government to protect the right of all children born in the United States to become U.S. citizens. As one member said, “When a child is born here, this country becomes their future, their hope, and their opportunity.” 

On February 5, 2025, the judge issued a preliminary injunction to block the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order from going into effect – for ASAP members and all immigrants in the United States. ASAP members’ lawsuit was the first to win a preliminary injunction against the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order. The judge explained that she was blocking the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order nationwide because so many pregnant ASAP members spoke out, and because ASAP members live in every state. 

On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court issued an opinion about the nationwide injunction. You can read more about the opinion at the top of this page. We will continue to update this page as the case develops.

Lawsuit Documents and Timeline:

What did the U.S. government do on January 20?

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order that tried to restrict birthright citizenship. The order said that, starting on February 19, some babies born in the United States to immigrant parents should not become U.S. citizens. However, this order is currently not in effect due to court decisions.

How are ASAP members fighting back?

On January 21, 2025, ASAP filed a lawsuit against the government in federal court.

In December 2024, we asked ASAP members whether we should file a lawsuit to protect birthright citizenship. Thousands of members responded, and over 99% voted yes. Since then, thousands of members have shared information to support the lawsuit, and explained why birthright citizenship is important to them. Dozens of pregnant members have also shared their stories for the lawsuit.

We are so grateful to every ASAP member who has participated so far. ASAP members, members of CASA (another nonprofit organization), and 5 mothers are the “plaintiffs” in the lawsuit. The lawyers on the case are ASAP, CASA, and a third group, the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University.

Who could be affected by the Executive Order if it becomes the law?

No children are currently affected by the Executive Order because the preliminary injunction is in place.

  • However, if the order ever goes into effect, these children would still become U.S. citizens at birth:

    • Children with at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident.

  • If the order ever goes into effect, these children who would not become U.S. citizens at birth:

    • Children whose father is not a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, AND whose mother has no current immigration documentation (“papers”) as well as no pending immigration applications.

    • Children whose father is not a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident, AND whose mother’s only immigration status is a tourist visa, a temporary work visa, or a student visa.

  • If the order ever goes into effect, these children fall into categories that are unclear:

    • Children whose parents are in other immigration situations, including people who have received asylum or have a pending asylum application.

Again, judges have blocked this Executive Order from going into effect. And we continue to believe that the Constitution says that all of these children should become U.S. citizens at birth.

Why is birthright citizenship protected by the U.S. Constitution?

From the beginning, the United States had a fundamental principle of giving U.S. citizenship to children born in the United States. However, this principle was not applied equally, and Black people were deprived of this right. More than 150 years ago, Black people worked together to end slavery in the United States and secure a more equal right to U.S. citizenship. As a result, the 14th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution.

But after the 14th Amendment was passed, the law was still not applied equally. More than 100 years ago, Chinese communities in the U.S. worked together to defend this right for the children of immigrants – winning a landmark Supreme Court decision called Wong Kim Ark.

The 14th amendment says, “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.”

Are there other lawsuits to protect birthright citizenship?

Yes. ASAP is not the only group that filed a lawsuit. Other groups have also filed lawsuits to try to stop the birthright citizenship law from changing.

We are proud to say that the lawsuit brought by ASAP members was the first to secure a preliminary injunction blocking the Birthright Citizenship Executive Order from going into effect!

ASAP filed our own lawsuit because members voted to do so and because we know how important it is to defend the rights of asylum seekers specifically. We also believe that asylum seekers deserve to receive clear and accurate information about whether the order applies to them, and we will prioritize this in our lawsuit.

Eventually, the issue could be decided for multiple lawsuits at once by the U.S. Supreme Court.

How can I learn more?

We will keep this page updated with the most recent information we have. Please check this page for the most updated information.

ASAP aims to provide factual information about current immigration laws. This information is not legal advice.

SEE ALL POSTS