Apex court grapples with Trump's bid to restrict birthright citizenship

None of the justices signals endorsement of executive order; some say it violates charter

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WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court wrestled on May 15 over Mr Donald Trump's attempt to broadly enforce his executive order to restrict birthright citizenship, a move that would affect thousands of babies born each year as the Republican President seeks a major shift in how the US Constitution has long been understood.

The court's conservative justices, who hold a 6-3 majority, seemed willing to limit the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide, or "universal", injunctions, as federal judges in Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts did to block Mr Trump's directive. None of the justices, however, signaled an endorsement of Mr Trump's order and some of the liberals said it violates the Constitution and the court's own precedents.

The justices heard more than two hours of arguments in the administration's emergency request to scale back the injunctions blocking Mr Trump's directive, which is a key part of his hardline approach towards immigration.

Three judges found that Mr Trump's order likely violates the Constitution's 14th Amendment citizenship language.

Mr Trump signed his order on Jan 20, his first day back in office. It directed federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of US-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or a lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder.

Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she believes Mr Trump's order violates multiple Supreme Court precedents concerning citizenship. She said the court should weigh the order's legality "if we are worried about those thousands of children who are going to be born without citizenship papers that could render them stateless" and leave them ineligible for government benefits.