Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, LITIGATION NEWS, TRENDS—Fourth Circuit sends CASA v. Trump back to district court, (Jul 31, 2025)

By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

The district court has already indicated that it would grant the plaintiffs’ motion for a class-wide preliminary injunction.

This week, the Fourth Circuit issued an order dismissing the appeal in CASA v. Trump and remanding the case back to the district court, which has already indicated its intent to grant the plaintiffs’ motion for a class-wide preliminary injunction relating to the executive order impacting birthright citizenship under certain immigration circumstances.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which purports to deny citizenship to the children born in United States territory of parents temporarily or unlawfully present in the United States. Lawsuits followed, including the one filed in this case. Courts throughout the country enjoined implementation and enforcement of the EO through universal injunctions.

SCOTUS. The Supreme Court ultimately accepted review on the scope of the universal injunction and, in Trump v. CASA, Inc., granted the government’s application for a partial stay of the preliminary injunction “to the extent that the injunction[] [is] broader than necessary to provide complete relief to each plaintiff with standing to sue” and “to the extent that [it] prohibit[s] executive agencies from developing and issuing public guidance about the Executive’s plans to implement... Executive Order [No. 14160].” The Court left open the question whether the universal injunction may be justified to give complete relief to the appellee states. It directed that the lower courts “move expeditiously to ensure that, with respect to each plaintiff,” the injunction in this case comports with the announced rule and with principles of equity.

Back to Fourth. With the appeal now back before it, the Fourth Circuit turned to consider a motion for remand by the plaintiffs. It noted that the district court had already issued an indicative ruling in light of the Supreme Court’s decision, stating that it would grant the plaintiffs’ motion for a class-wide preliminary injunction if it had jurisdiction to do so.

Appeal dismissed, remanded. Although the plaintiffs sought only limited remand, the Fourth Circuit concluded that the “better course” was to dismiss the pending appeal, remand the case, and deny the motion for limited remand as moot. This would “allow the district court to comport expeditiously with the Supreme Court’s directions in CASA, ensuring that any injunction complies with that decision. It will also allow for an immediate ruling on the plaintiffs’ motion for class-wide relief, so that appellate review of the merits of that relief can come sooner rather than later.” It also denied the government’s cross-motion to hold the plaintiffs’ motion in abeyance.

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