Supreme Court to hear oral arguments May 15 on Trump EO ending birthright citizenship

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on May 15 over President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants. 

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Supreme Court left in place orders from lower courts that have blocked the executive order from taking effect. The court consolidated three cases against the executive order and set an oral argument for May 15. A Department of Justice spokeswoman said, "This is a key victory for President Trump’s popular immigration agenda and we look forward to presenting our case in front of the Supreme Court."

The executive order on birthright citizenship was one of dozens of orders signed by Trump on his first day back in office. The "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship" order states that citizenship will not be granted to those born to parents who were in the country either by illegal means or lawfully but temporarily.

The order was quickly challenged, with a federal judge temporarily blocking the order from taking place just days after it was signed, after the attorneys general of Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Illinois brought forth a case. 

Another suit was filed against the order in February by five pregnant illegal immigrants, arguing that the order violates the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. The clause states, "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." This lawsuit is backed by immigrant advocacy groups Casa, Inc. and the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project.

In March, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow a portion of the order to go into effect and to "narrow court orders entered by district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington that blocked the order."