Elected officials across Queens are speaking out against a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limits the authority of lower court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, particularly in cases involving President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship.
In a 6-3 decision split along ideological lines, the Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration’s request to curb the power of federal judges to block executive actions on a nationwide scale.
The court did not address whether Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship is constitutional. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed that the Supreme Court is expected to consider that question during its next term, which begins in October.
Lower courts had previously found the executive order—aimed at ending automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants or those on temporary visas—to be unconstitutional.
Those rulings drew sharp criticism from the Trump administration, with the former president accusing “radical left judges” of attempting to undermine presidential authority.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, Trump said he was elected on a “historic mandate” and described the previous rulings as a “grave threat to democracy.”
In response, Queens elected officials condemned the ruling, warning that stripping lower courts of their ability to issue nationwide injunctions could have “sweeping consequences” for the protection of constitutional rights.
U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez said the ruling was a “direct blow” to the rule of law and a “gift” to authoritarianism.
“By limiting the courts’ ability to block unlawful executive actions, the Supreme Court has cleared a path for Trump’s extremist agenda — including his unconstitutional attempt to end birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment,” Velázquez said in a statement.
However, she noted that the ruling does not “settle” the birthright citizenship issue.
“That fight is far from over. The case will continue through the courts, and I will do everything in my power to defend the Constitution and protect the rights of every child born on American soil,” Velázquez said.
State Sen. Kristen Gonzalez, representing neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, described the Supreme Court ruling as a “travesty,” and described Trump’s efforts to end birthright citizenship in certain cases as “simply cruel.”
Gonzalez added that Trump is a “fascist” and called on New York State to implement measures to protect immigrant residents. She also expressed concerns over the Trump Administration’s “attacks” on the judiciary branch.
“Birthright citizenship has long been settled law and despite Trump’s disregard for our Constitution it is simply cruel to attempt to strip children of citizenship because of who their parents are,” Gonzalez said in a statement.
“This ruling also furthers the administration’s attacks on the judiciary branch, which we cannot simply allow if our Democracy is to stand. We will not go back and here in New York, we must pass protections for our immigrant neighbors and fight this fascist regime.”
State Sen. John Liu, meanwhile, said the ruling “opens the door” to challenging birthright citizenship and “eroding” constitutional protections.
“By restricting nationwide injunctions, the court is attempting to create a future where even those born on American soil may be denied the right to live here,” Liu said in a statement. “This decision will have a deeply destabilizing effect on countless families in our community who believe in the promise of America and have fought to secure a future for their children. These rights are now uncertain.”
Liu referenced Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion stating that the ruling has created a “regime” where “no right is safe.”
“Make no mistake: This is Donald Trump’s regime at work, nefariously designed to tip the scales of power and grant him more authoritarian control. This fight is not over, and we must continue to stand up to his daily overreaches and make sure the fundamental tenets of our democracy, like birthright citizenship and so many more, are protected,” Liu said.
Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas said the ruling was “another blow to democracy” and called on the New York State legislature to take a stand against the Trump Administration.
“The Constitution clearly states that anyone born in this country has a right to citizenship. But the Trump administration and its extreme right cohort have demonstrated a clear, yet disturbing willingness to undermine the truth,” González-Rojas said.
González-Rojas further accused the Trump Administration of converting the US into “Nazi Germany.”
“In their fearmongering and blatant thirst for chaos, they are outright tearing families apart, destroying our economy, and disappearing people off the streets like this is Nazi Germany. What we’re witnessing is nothing short of a coordinated attack on human rights—and at the center of it is Donald Trump.”
Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who represents parts of Sunnyside and Long Island City, questioned whether the Supreme Court is being controlled by an “authoritarian” president.
“If our highest Court is now controlled by an authoritarian they will no longer check or balance, can national leadership meet this moment? Will they protect working people whose lives now hang in the balance, or will they continue to placate the unaccountable billionaires who brought us to this moment,” Valdez said in a statement.
Council Member Julie Won, representing Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside, also expressed concerns about the ruling, stating that the verdict could disenfranchise a significant number of New Yorkers.
“All children born on U.S. soil are U.S. citizens,” Won said in a statement. “This ruling would disenfranchise many New Yorkers, who are the children of immigrant families. Our office stands with all immigrant New Yorkers and I will continue fighting along with my colleagues in government to make sure every family is protected.”
Likewise, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards described the ruling as a “travesty” for the rule of law in the US.
“It doesn’t take a genius to interpret the words of the 14th Amendment of our Constitution — ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States’ — as a guarantee of citizenship for every baby born on U.S. soil,” Richards said in a statement. “But sadly, all it takes is six right-wing Supreme Court justices to give our xenophobic president and his extremist allies a workaround of the Constitution in their attempt to ethnically cleanse our nation.”
