By Joke Kujenya
THE UNITED States (U.S.) Supreme Court on Tuesday capped its current term with a series of historic rulings on transgender rights, immigration and campaign finance, delivering major victories for conservatives while dealing President Donald Trump a significant hit on birthright citizenship.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the court upheld state bans on transgender athletes competing in female school sports and struck down federal limits on coordinated campaign spending.
However, the justices rejected Trump’s attempt to restrict birthright citizenship, reaffirming the long-standing constitutional principle that most children born on American soil are U.S. citizens regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
In one of the term’s most closely watched cases, the Supreme Court upheld laws in West Virginia and Idaho barring transgender girls and women from competing on female sports teams in public schools and universities, finding that the measures do not violate federal anti-discrimination law.
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said states may preserve women’s and girls’ sports for biological females because separate male and female competitions have long been recognised owing to physical differences between the sexes.
The decision overturned lower court rulings that sided with transgender students who argued the bans breached both the Constitution and Title IX.
The challenge was brought by Becky Pepper-Jackson, a West Virginia student-athlete, and Lindsay Hecox, a transgender student at Boise State University.
Their cases became focal points in the national debate over gender identity and school sports, with more than two dozen states now enforcing similar restrictions.
The ruling handed a major legal victory to Republican-led states and the Trump administration, which argued the laws protect fairness and safety in women’s sports.
Opponents, however, described the measures as discriminatory and said they unfairly exclude transgender athletes.
In a separate decision, the court rejected Trump’s executive order seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, ruling that children born in the U.S. to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present remain citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Chief Justice John Roberts said the court’s 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark remains controlling authority, affirming that citizenship is determined by birth on American soil rather than the immigration status of a child’s parents.
The majority also said the Citizenship Clause was adopted to overturn the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision and ensure citizenship is guaranteed by birth within the U.S.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed the executive order could not take effect but wrote separately that Congress could, if it chose, legislate limited exceptions to birthright citizenship consistent with the Constitution.
Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, dissented, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment does not automatically extend citizenship to children born to parents who are in the country unlawfully or temporarily.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that consequently, the court rounded off its term by striking down federal limits on coordinated campaign spending between political parties and their candidates.
In a decision favouring Vice President JD Vance and other Republican challengers, the majority ruled that restrictions contained in the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act violated the First Amendment’s protection of political speech.
Supporters of the spending limits also said they were necessary to guard against corruption and undue influence, while opponents argued the restrictions weakened political parties and curtailed free expression during election campaigns.
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