What constitutional issue was involved in Trump v. CASA?

In Trump v. CASA, Inc., et al. (2025), the primary constitutional issue involved the validity of an executive order that sought to end birthright citizenship in the United States, a principle established by the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.12

While the case centered on this significant constitutional question, the Supreme Court’s majority did not rule on whether the executive order itself was unconstitutional. Instead, the Court addressed the procedural authority of federal district courts to issue "universal" or nationwide preliminary injunctions. The majority held that such injunctions likely exceed the equitable authority granted to federal courts by Congress, ruling that relief must be limited to the specific plaintiffs with standing to sue.12

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson filed a dissent, arguing that the Court's decision to stay the injunctions against the executive order threatened the rule of law and risked fostering "executive lawlessness" by allowing the executive branch to act without sufficient judicial restraint.1