Minnesotans protest Supreme Court’s ruling that gives Trump sweeping power

Minneapolis, MN – On a rainy Monday evening, June 30, hundreds of Minnesotans lined Lake Street with signs and chants to protest the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to give sweeping power to Trump, which could ultimately allow him to end birthright citizenship.

The decision came on Friday June 27. Legal experts say ending birthright citizenship, a right enshrined by the 14th Amendment since 1868, is a direct attack on the Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped directly ruling on President Trump’s racist order, for now.

The court agreed with Trump’s lawyers to limit the ability of federal judges to issue universal injunctions from now on. This drastic move takes power away from the judiciary and hands it to Trump. Now whatever legally dubious executive orders Trump may dream up cannot be stopped in every state by federal judges; they can only be paused for the specific client or class that is suing the government.

While the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits of Trump’s clearly illegal attempt to change the Constitution via executive order regarding birthright citizenship, its decision to expand presidential power and restrict judicial power creates a chaotic legal situation where such orders can be implemented in much of the country, while being blocked in other parts of the country or for particular plaintiffs or classes represented in class action lawsuits.

Protesters yelled “Chinga la migra!” and “No one is illegal, all power to the people!” as passing cars on busy Lake Street honked in support during rush hour traffic. The energy stayed high as the crowd heard from five speakers, and despite some rain, stayed for a spirited march through the surrounding neighborhood.

People came out of their houses and onto their porches to support the protest, and patrons at local businesses cheered on as participants marched by with signs that read: “Defend birthright citizenship” and “If the courts won’t stop Trump, the people must stop him.”

Bruce Nestor, a longtime movement lawyer who has defended many activists from state repression, said “To attack birthright citizenship expands the ability of immigration agents to go to every nook and cranny of the country – not just the border, not just within 100 miles of the border, but every school, every hospital – now it allows them to go back. What if your parents were legal permanent residents and it was revoked months later because someone said they made a mistake?”

Dieu Do from the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee shared, “My parents were not citizens when they had me. Birthright citizenship is why I am a U.S. citizen. So, the Supreme Court decision that was announced last week really hit home for me. What is legal about kidnapping people in broad daylight and deporting them without due process? What is legal about deliberately targeting people at courthouses and picking people up as they are going to and from hearings? What is legal about revoking student visas for speaking up for Palestine and human rights on their campuses?”

Other speakers included members of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice, Students for a Democratic Society, and the MN Anti War Committee. Dieu Do ended the speaking portion of the program, stating, “We will continue to protest, be in the streets, calling for legalization for all and an end to mass deportations and raids and demanding justice for all. Because the people united will never be defeated!”

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