On Friday, June 27 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to restrict federal judges’ abilities to impose nationwide rulings to block or restrict policies imposed by the executive branch. Bishop William J. Barber, II, President and Sr. Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach, released the following statement in response to today’s ruling.
“SCOTUS just had a 6-3 split on the most important amendment of the Constitution, the 14th. This was the Reconstruction amendment that made citizenship available to all people born or naturalized in the United States and enshrined equal protection under law in the Constitution.”
“While the Court hasn’t ruled yet on Trump’s denial of birthright citizenship, it did say a district court ruling can’t stop implementation of Trump’s executive orders nationwide until the constitutionality of his order is settled. This means we could actually have people having different rights based on the states they live in, as enslaved people experienced during the Civil War.”
“This is some dangerous, dangerous stuff, my friends.”
“The 14th Amendment gave the civil rights movement, the women’s movement, the LGBTQ movement, and the disability rights movement a way to stop racist politicians and presidents. The court has folded and Congressional leadership has abdicated its responsibility to a would-be king.”
“We must stand together across all the divisions that have been used to separate us and build a moral movement that can take back Congress in 2026 and check the power of Trump’s regime.”
Bishop William J. Barber, II is President and Senior Lecturer of Repairers of the Breach; Professor of Public Theology and Public Policy and Founding Director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School; and National Co-Chair of the Poor People’s Campaign.
UPDATE: June 28th, 2025
On Saturday, June 28, Bishop Barber delivered the keynote address at the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers’ 2025 Annual CLE Conference. He discussed the recent SCOTUS ruling during his remarks and called the lawyers to the Holy work of doing Justice.