RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — A major Supreme Court ruling Friday appears to clear the way for President Donald Trump to eliminate birthright citizenship, but NC State political science professor Steven Greene said it is not clear if that is feasible, or how exactly it will impact North Carolina.
Greene said it is important to note the Supreme Court’s ruling did not take a position on the issue of birthright citizenship itself.
The case dealt with Trump’s executive order aimed at getting rid of birthright citizenship, specifically on an injunction handed down by a federal judge that blocked the executive order from taking effect.
“What the Supreme Court ruled is that a single federal judge cannot make a nationwide policy ruling against the government,” Greene explained.
By ending the injunction, the ruling does appear to let Trump’s executive order move forward. The order denies automatic citizenship to children born to parents who are not US citizens or legal residents.
Greene said that it is more complicated than it seems.
“It’s not entirely clear, honestly, how exactly the Trump administration will look to enforce this, whether that gets enforced one way in red states that want to cooperate versus blue states that don’t,” he said.
North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson released a statement Friday:
“Because we took action to defend the Constitution, North Carolinians still have their Fourteenth Amendment right to full citizenship. While this case has been sent back to a lower court for review, our position remains unchanged. The language of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear, and we are going to defend it.”
Greene said that likely means not much will change right away.
“The executive branch in North Carolina, as much as Republicans have tried to take power away, still has a Democratic governor, a Democratic attorney general, who would not at all be interested in trying to cooperate with these kinds of policies unless they absolutely had to, probably under court order,” he said.
Greene said the biggest impact of Friday’s ruling has little to do with birthright citizenship. He said the decision limits the court’s ability to balance the president.
“It really does seem to free up President Trump to be able to do more,” he said.
Greene also said birthright citizenship as a practice will probably come before the Supreme Court, and he thinks it is unlikely justices will rule against it.
Source: Fox 8 News Channel
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